1981
December 5 and 6, Rome
Ciro Capobianco – December 5 – Killing of Alessandro Alibrandi
On December 5, 1981, a police patrol vehicle with Agent Capobianco and two other officers is attacked by a NAR (Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari) commando near Labaro, on via Flaminia in Rome. The terrorists, including Alessandro Alibrandi, Walter Sordi, Ciro Lai, and Pasquale Belsito, were seeking to disarm a patrol. In the ensuing violent firefight, 21-year-old Agent Capobianco is shot in the lungs. Rushed to the hospital, he succumbs to his injuries two days later.
During the shootout, Alibrandi is also shot in the head from behind and dies a few hours later. The other terrorists manage to escape and flee.
Romano Radici – December 6
On the morning of December 6, around 10:30 AM, Belsito and Lai are walking in the small gardens of via Marmorata, near the hiding place of Walter Sordi, who was injured in the shootout at Labaro where Alessandro Alibrandi lost his life (while policeman Capobianco died two days later). The two do not want to abandon their friend but are unsure what to do. (…) They discuss animatedly, are agitated, a bit confused, and a Carabinieri patrol car passing by mistakes them for a quarreling drug dealer pair.
The Shootout and Escape
(…) Brigadier Rapicetti stays near the car, and Marshal Radici approaches the two who have sat down on two benches after a sign of agreement. Upon the non-commissioned officer’s gesture inviting them to come closer, they pretend to comply. Lai, further away, heads towards the car, Belsito puts the object he had in hand back in his pocket and pulls out a revolver, firing two shots: the first while the man is bent over to check that the two have not thrown away anything, the second from 3-4 meters. The target is hit at the base of the neck and under the left armpit. The two flee in different directions. Lai opens fire on the brigadier who starts chasing Belsito and manages to escape by getting on a bus.
The murderer aims for the Ostiense Post Office, shoots at an employee who tries to hold him back, and as he crosses via Marmorata, he is intercepted by an undercover police car. The two plainclothes policemen, having noticed the pursuit, move beyond the public office to block him. Belsito fires the last two shots, one hitting Agent Colangelo’s chest, who is saved only because the windshield and wallet cushion the impact of the bullet, the other is hit by the empty gun thrown as a missile. Not even a wound to the buttock stops him: he extracts a 9 parabellum and keeps firing, staggering away; at the fire station, he hijacks a 126, but bullets from the agents puncture a tire, he enters the barracks and exits through the carriageway door, captures a 127, and disappears. A Nar’s 12:40 phone call followed to claim “We wanted to avenge Alessandro Alibrandi
