Two Italian paramilitary policemen were shot and wounded Sunday in a crowded square outside the premier's office in Rome as Italy's new leader was being sworn in elsewhere in the city.
The shooting took place shortly after 11:30 a.m., just as Premier Enrico Letta and his cabinet were taking their oaths at the Quirinal presidential office.
A Carabiniere police officer lies on the ground after gunshots were fired in front of Chigi Palace in Rome. (Giampiero Sposito/Reuters)
Reporters inside the Chigi Palace press office, about a kilometre away, heard the shots and raced outside. An AP television producer saw the two wounded Carabinieri officers in the square outside the palace. One of them lay on the pavement with blood pouring out of his neck.
About 10 bullets littered the square next to the palace, which houses the offices of the premier and other government officials.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said a third person, a woman who was passing by, was also injured. It was unclear how, but the shooting produced panic in the square as people tried to flee.
It was not immediately clear if there was any connection between the shooting and the swearing-in, but tensions have been running high following inconclusive elections in February that left Italy in political deadlock for weeks. Letta, 46, nailed down a coalition deal only a day earlier between his center-left forces and the conservative bloc of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Sky said the alleged gunman was also taken to the hospital. The suspect was seen with a protective collar around his neck, indicating he might have been injured.
The new cabinet ministers were seen smiling in a group photo as news of the shooting broke and it was clear they weren't immediately aware of the attack.
Metal fencing closes off Chigi Square, which flanks Via del Corso, one of Rome's most popular streets with strollers. But the public can cross the square by showing identification, although sometimes passersby cross it without being stopped. It was unclear if the assailant had asked permission to enter the square.
