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Two men are scheduled to face court in Italy following a dramatic armed robbery targeting an armored security truck on a highway this past Monday.
A masked group wielding Kalashnikov rifles assaulted the vehicle and commandeered a student’s car during their attempted getaway, which culminated in a shootout with the Carabinieri, Italy’s national police force.
The gang, consisting of at least six individuals, exchanged gunfire with the Carabinieri, resulting in one officer being injured.
Guido Crosetto, Italy’s Defence Minister, condemned the incident, calling it “a bloody confrontation with gunfire, where the top priority is safeguarding the community from the recklessness of these criminals.”
The robbers halted traffic by stopping a vehicle in front of the Battistolli security company’s armored truck and setting it ablaze, effectively blocking the road.
The security company described the widely shared footage of the incident as shocking, adding, “We express our closeness and solidarity to our colleagues, the bystanders involved, and their families.”
It highlighted a surge in incidents of this nature, and called for more to be done to improve security.
“In the last two years, the Battistolli Group has suffered 14 attacks, a situation that requires attention and concrete action,” it said.
The suspects, two men aged 38 and 62, will be charged with a range of offences including attempted murder, aggravated robbery and possession of war weapons, according to Italy’s public broadcaster RAI.
The injured officer is still being treated in hospital, it added.
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