Italy court shooting: 'Four dead, man arrested' in Milan ~ Get price today

A gunman has been arrested after he shot dead three people at the Palace of Justice in the Italian city of Milan.

A fourth person was found dead at the court, from an apparent heart attack.

The suspect, Claudio Giardiello, was reportedly a defendant in a bankruptcy case. He was arrested in a Milan suburb after fleeing the scene on a motorbike.

The dead are said to include his former lawyer and a bankruptcy court judge. The shooting has prompted scrutiny of security procedures at the courthouse.

Questions are being asked about how Mr Giardiello managed to smuggle a weapon into a well-guarded building, use it several times and escape.

The suspect was arrested by carabinieri officers in Vimercate, about 25km (15 miles) north-east of central Milan, near the town of Monza.

Claudio Giardiello — Mr Giardiello, seen here in a picture released by police, was arrested on the outskirts of Milan

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the "presumed assassin" was now being held at a military police barracks in the Milan area.

'Shut in'

The sound of gunfire had sparked panic inside the Palace of Justice on Wednesday morning.

Hundreds of people poured down stairways towards the exits while police and military police officers searched for the gunman.

"All of a sudden we heard at least three or four shots," lawyer Marcello Ilia told the AFP news agency outside the building.

Women are evacuated from the Palace of Justice in Milan (9 April 2015) — Women were first to be evacuated by police from the Palace of Justice

"We tried to find out what was going on. There were suddenly lots of police officers who told us not to leave the room, they shut us in," he said.

"After a few minutes we came out. They told us someone in a suit and tie was armed and at large in the court."

Citing officials and witnesses, the newspaper La Repubblica reported that the gunman had been attending a bankruptcy hearing when a fight broke out inside the third floor courtroom.

He pulled out a weapon and shot the lawyer, named as Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani, as well as another man, who is said to have been a co-defendant in the case.

According to La Repubblica, Mr Appiani was a former lawyer for Mr Giardiello who was acting as a witness in the case.

Police at the courthouse building in Milan — Police searched the building for the gunman but he managed to escape

The gunman then left the courtroom and headed to the office of appeals court judge, Fernando Ciampi, shooting him dead.

It is not known if the gunman had any links to the judge.

A fourth person was found dead inside the building after apparently suffering a heart attack.

Another two people were wounded and are being treated at a hospital.

After hiding inside the Palace of Justice for more than an hour, the gunman fled on a motorbike, according to La Repubblica.

Mr Giardiello was described as "aggressive" and "a little paranoid" by his former lawyer, Valerio Maraniello, in comments quoted by AFP news agency.

Police cars surround Milan's Palace of Justice (9 April 2015) — The court building is in the centre of Milan, only a few streets away from the city's cathedral

'Great pain'

Visitors to the Palace of Justice have to pass through metal detectors.

Lawyers and courthouse employees with official identification are, however, regularly waved through, according to the Associated Press.

Ansa reported that one of the metal detectors was broken on Wednesday morning.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi described the attack as "a moment of great pain, of sadness".

He praised the police who arrested the man but said it was "unthinkable" that someone could enter a court with a weapon, and promised an inquiry into the incident.

The Palace of Justice is in the centre of Milan, only a few streets away from the city's cathedral and main shopping district.

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วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 9 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2558

Italy court shooting: 'Four dead, man arrested' in Milan

'Shut in'

'Great pain'

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