Cagliari, alarm in via Crespellani: former armed caretaker barricades himself in the house with his mother

Emergency in via Crespellani, in the Mulinu Becciu neighborhood of Cagliari: an armed man, a former caretaker (and not a security guard, as initially emerged) , barricaded himself in his home for several hours. Also inside was his mother, an invalid, who was presumed to be held hostage. The alarm was raised shortly after 1 p.m. The building was surrounded and the road closed, with a massive deployment of police forces guarding the area. Hours of extremely high tension were experienced until shortly after 3 p.m. and following a negotiation, the man opened the door to the officers.

In Mulinu Becciu, hours were lived that left many with bated breath.   After a call for help from the elderly woman's caregiver's phone, with whom the former caretaker had had a disagreement, the police cars (the Mobile Squad and the Flying Squad were on site, with the support of the fire brigade) blocked access to via Crespellani, on both sides. It was feared that the man, whose conditions were unknown, could also harm any passers-by. So the residents were asked not to go out.

The coordinators of the operation concentrated in front of the house, and started a sort of negotiation with the man. At that stage it was not yet clear whether he was armed or not and what his intentions were. But it was feared that the former caretaker had a gun in his possession.

A concern that turned out to be well-founded. Around 3 pm the officers managed to dissuade the man from his possibly worst intentions and he opened the door. A 9mm pistol was taken from the house (but according to leaks it had remained inside a closet) . Meanwhile, the 118 emergency responders have started to check the health of the woman who was inside: her conditions are not cause for concern.

The reasons for the action of the arrested person are still to be understood: he has been subjected to a TSO.