A violent incident in Vigevano, Italy, has left two people injured after a 50-year-old Albanian man carried out a brutal attack, triggering a major police operation involving elite units.
The event unfolded on Gravellona 7 street, where the suspect, identified as Dritan Qafa, initially assaulted his 75-year-old landlord. The elderly man suffered serious injuries and was rushed to San Matteo Hospital for urgent medical treatment. However, the violence quickly escalated beyond the initial attack.
Armed with a modified 12-gauge shotgun with its serial number removed, Qafa then turned his weapon on a 63-year-old domestic worker inside the house. He fired twice in her direction during a moment of panic. The woman managed to save herself by taking cover behind a door, although she sustained injuries to her arm caused by shattered glass fragments.
Following the attacks, the suspect barricaded himself inside the residence—an address already linked to a previous violent episode two years earlier, when he had shot a neighbor of Egyptian origin. The situation prompted a prolonged police siege, as authorities attempted to de-escalate the crisis through negotiation.
After hours of failed attempts to secure a peaceful surrender, Italy’s special police unit UOPI intervened. The operation was swift and tactical: officers deployed stun grenades to disorient the suspect before subduing him with a taser. Qafa was arrested and transferred first to a police station and later to a detention facility in Pavia.
He now faces serious charges, including attempted double murder, illegal possession of weapons, and resistance to law enforcement. Judicial questioning by Judge Daniela Garlaschelli has been temporarily postponed, while investigators continue to examine the motives behind the repeated acts of violence.