Rome, April 27 (IANS/AKI) A 27-year-old man died in Italy's Sicily region after a pensioner opened fire at him, allegedly mistaking him for a burglar.
The critically injured man was rushed to hospital after the shooting, which took place near the eastern Sicilian village of Mascali.
Police detained a 69-year-old pensioner from Mascali on suspicion of murder over the shooting.
The pensioner said he fired several shots after he heard a noise outside his home in the middle of the night and suspected a burglar was about to break in.
The man had a licence for the gun used in the attack.
In August 1999, an English farmer from Norfolk, Tony Martin, who shot a teenage burglar dead at his farmhouse, was convicted of murder, later reduced to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, and served three years in prison for the killing.
--IANS/AKI
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