1974

5 December, Argelato (BO)
Andrea Lombardini, 34 years old, Carabinieri

On 5 December 1974, following a telephone report received at the Carabinieri station of Castello d’Argile, in the province of Bologna, the commander, Brigadier Andrea Lombardini (who was on weekly rest that day), tracked down, together with the Carabiniere Gennaro Sciarretta, a suspicious van stopped on a country road near the Argelato cemetery.
Having approached to check on the three occupants, he was mortally wounded by numerous shots fired from inside the cabin, presumably with a “Sten” machine gun, a “Bernardelli” pistol and a “Beretta”, both 7.65 caliber. Carabiniere Sciarretta, having found shelter behind the military vehicle, in the direction of which the criminals fired more shots, reacted with the Beretta Automatic Musket (M.A.B.) supplied, setting off a barrage of 9 shots which hit the front part of the van.
The criminals, unharmed, realizing that their weapons had jammed, got out of the vehicle and surrendered but, taking advantage of a moment of distraction by the soldier who had turned towards his dying commander, they threw themselves at him and, after a violent struggle, managed to disarm him and stun him by hitting him on the head with the butt of the weapon. Subsequently, having also taken away his service pistol, they left in the military vehicle found abandoned nearby together with the M.A.B. Fortunately, Carabiniere Sciarretta suffered minor injuries.
The investigations made it possible to ascertain that the intervention of the military had frustrated the plan of the criminals, subsequently arrested and identified as belonging to the “Red Brigades”, intending to rob the armory of a sugar factory in nearby San Giorgio di Piano to “self-finance” the organization.