Accused kills three, including 
 judge, in courthouse rampage

As the shots rang out in the fortress-like tribunal, court employees barricaded themselves inside their offices and took cover under their desks while police hunted for the gunman, who moved unimpeded from one floor to the next.

“There was a lot of panic at the beginning when people came running towards us saying there was a person with a pistol who had been shooting,” said lawyer Mirko Ricetti, who said he locked himself in a first-floor courtroom after hearing a shot.

After texting loved ones that they were OK, employees and lawyers were eventually allowed to trickle out of the tribunal, women first, followed by the men, who had their court ID cards checked.

Interior minister Angelino Alfano said the suspect was caught by police in Vimercate, near Monza, indicating he had travelled some 25 kilometres from the scene before being captured.

An ambulance with escort was seen leaving the Vimercate police station, but it was not immediately clear if the gunman was inside.

Prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati said the gunman first fired on his lawyer and co-defendant, killing both and seriously injuring a second co-defendant.

Afterwards, he “walked through the building, going down a floor, and killed the judge”, Mr Bruti Liberati told the Associated Press.

He said it was not clear whether there was any relationship between the gunman and the judge.

He identified the killed judge as Fernando Ciampi, who worked in the civil section of bankruptcy court.

The ANSA news agency identified the gunman as Claudio Giardiello.

Mr Bruti Liberati said the gunman was on trial with two others for fraudulent bankruptcy.

Giardiello’s former lawyer, Valerio Maraniello, told RAI state TV the case concerned a failed property business and that Giardiello was “very unusual” 
and “over the top” in his legal dealings.

The shooting immediately raised questions about how the man gained entrance to the Fascist-era courthouse with a weapon, given that visitors must pass through metal detectors.

The courthouse has metal detectors at the four main entrances, but lawyers and courthouse employees with official IDs are regularly waved through without the additional security screen and accredited employees can drive into the internal garage.

Lawyers Mirko and Davide Pupo noted that the metal detector from the lawyers’ entrance had been removed several months ago.

Employees who emerged after the shooting suggested that the gunman could easily have gained entrance without passing through the metal detector by entering with his lawyer, although other lawyers said their clients are routinely told to go in via the public entrance.

Deputy interior minister Filippo Bubbico said an investigation would determine who was to blame for any security lapse.

“There’s no doubt that this episode signals a non-functioning of the protection mechanisms, which must be employed daily and which have worked for years at the Milan tribunal,” he told Italian television.