The explosive attack on the RivieraBanca branch ends badly and one of the thieves loses his right arm. The vigilantes of the Diamante shopping center in Cattolica and the carabinieri, who arrived on site in record time, found him lying on the ground, covered in blood. The man, a 36-year-old Romanian citizen living in the Forlì area, continued to scream in pain and was holding the stump of his arm, which had been shattered by the explosion of one of the devices used in the attack. He was transported with the maximum severity code to the ‘Bufalini’ hospital in Cesena where he underwent a delicate operation. Until yesterday he was still hospitalized, in serious condition, and his room was guarded by the military who declared him under arrest on charges of attempted aggravated theft. The doctors sedated him and as soon as he recovered, he will be interviewed by the police who immediately started the investigation, also acquiring footage from the bank’s surveillance cameras and the others installed in the shopping center forecourt. The hunt for accomplices also began: the 36-year-old certainly did not act alone but the other members of the gang left before the police arrived.
The alarm went off around 4 in Piazza Berlinguer. The criminals targeted the ATM of the RivieraBanca branch using the classic ‘marmot’ technique. They dug a crack in the metal of the ATM and then inserted a homemade device containing gunpowder, which triggered the first ‘bang’. However, something must have gone wrong and for some reason the thieves were unable to take the money. They headed to the back of the bank, forcing open the back door. Perhaps, according to an initial reconstruction, they wanted to activate a second bomb, but it was at this point that the unexpected happened. The 36-year-old was unable to get away in time and was hit directly by the explosion. A devastating blast, which literally tore his right arm to shreds and caused injuries to his torso and face. The man remained on the ground. His accomplices, however, fled, probably knowing that their companion would be rescued immediately.
In fact the carabinieri arrived on site within a few minutes, finding themselves in front of the foreigner who was holding his stump with his left hand. No trace of the accomplices: the hope is that the recordings from the surveillance cameras may contain useful clues to their identification. The injured man was stabilized and then loaded into the ambulance, which set off towards the Bufalini hospital in Cesena. The magistrate on duty was informed of the fact and the military personnel immediately set to work to precisely reconstruct the dynamics of what happened. According to what emerged, no money was taken from the branch.
Lorenzo Muccioli
