Controversy in Italy over a New Year's Eve party with a man injured by a shot from the gun of a Meloni deputy

The first political uproar of the year in Italy for Giorgia Meloni has to do with a stray bullet that came out of the gun of an MP from Brothers of Italy, the party led by the prime minister, and ended up slightly injuring the son-in-law of an escort of the undersecretary of state for justice at a New Year's Eve party. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the incident and the opposition is calling for the intervention of the head of government to clarify what happened.

Early morning of January 1st. Rosazza, a small mountain village of 90 inhabitants in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Several people are participating in a New Year's Eve party when, suddenly, a gunshot is heard and a man is wounded in the leg. The victim is the son-in-law of one of the bodyguards of the Undersecretary of State for Justice, Andrea Delmastro, and the weapon is owned by Brothers of Italy deputy Emmanuele Pozzolo, although he claims that he never pulled the trigger. In the first moments of confusion, attendees doubt whether it is a firecracker or if it has really been a firearm.

The injured 31-year-old was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital and released a few hours later. According to early reconstructions, the shot came from a revolver, a North American Arms LR22, which Pozzolo legally possesses and was showing to some of those present. The Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation to clarify what happened.

"I confirm that the shooting was accidental, but it was not me who fired the shot," said the deputy, who did not mention who the perpetrator was. The newspaper La Repubblica reports that the MP has undergone a test to determine if there is gunpowder residue on his hands, but has refused to hand over to investigators the clothes he was wearing at the time of the events, as requested by the Prosecutor's Office, invoking parliamentary immunity. If prosecutors request other inquiries such as a search of the home or phone calls, they will have to ask parliament for permission.

The media point out that the responsibility for what happened would fall on Pozzolo, who had the duty to guard as safely as possible the weapon he was authorized to carry for his personal defense.

Pozzolo was not one of the guests at the party, which included several members of the Brothers of Italy. Among the thirty guests was Francesca Delmastro, sister of the undersecretary and mayor of Rosazza. The deputy, originally from a neighboring town, passed in front of the venue of the celebration, recognized the cars parked at the door and asked permission to enter to say hello. A short time later, the gunshot was heard.

The Undersecretary of Justice assures that at that time he had gone to take something to the car and was not at the scene, so he did not see what happened. "My escort wanted me to leave right away, but I told him I wanted to know what had happened to the boy and make sure he was doing. He had been placed on the table in the middle of the hallway. He was wounded in the leg. He is 31 years old. He told me that he had won the award for best worker of the year and that he hoped to win it again. He added: 'I'm sorry for you, you're going to get into trouble and you weren't even in the room,'" Undersecretary Delmastro said in an interview with La Repubblica. He has also declared himself "dumbfounded" by the fact that his party colleague went to a party armed. "It's a rarity, of course. I told him to come, but I never imagined he would bring a gun," he said.

At the moment, it is unknown why the deputy was armed. According to local media, Meloni's party is trying to clarify whether there are justified reasons for personal security.

This is the first term as an MP for Pozzolo, known in local politics for his anti-vaccine positions during the pandemic. He has also been a member of the far-right Northern League (when the party was still called that, before becoming the League). His pro-gun statements can still be found on social media, including one from 2015 after a mass shooting at a school in Oregon. "For Obama, it's always the guns' fault. However, I've never seen a gun that fires itself," he said at the time.

The incident has roiled politics. The opposition, led by the progressive Democratic Party (PD), has called for Delmastro's resignation and Meloni's intervention to "immediately clarify" the incident. "These incompetents are a danger to the safety of those around them, not to mention national security. Giorgia Meloni should clarify what measures she intends to take against MP Pozzolo, who goes to parties with a loaded gun in his pocket and ends up injuring a person," said the party's leader, Elly Schlein.

"Gunslinger parliamentarian"

Greens spokesman Angelo Bonelli has also called for Delmastro's resignation. And Matteo Renzi, leader of the centrist Italia Viva, has criticised the "incapacity" of the far-right Meloni's government. "Meloni's is not a ruling class: they are inadequate, incapable, insurmountable. And dangerous, especially for themselves. If that's how you start the year, imagine what could happen in 2024. While waiting for the gunmen deputy's weapons to be taken away, I hope that Delmastro leaves the government as soon as possible," the former prime minister wrote on his networks. And he wondered, "What were the escort agents doing at the party? What about the relatives of the escort agents? And above all: why bring weapons to the New Year's Eve party in the presence of deputies and members of the government?" We were only missing the gunslinger parliamentarian," the 5-Star Movement said ironically.

Brothers of Italy has downplayed an incident that in its opinion has "no political relevance". The party has limited itself to saying that "this is a fact on which the competent authorities will make the necessary verifications to determine responsibilities". And he described as "absurd the attempt to transform what happened into a political case to attack Brothers of Italy".

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