A man holed up in his fifth-floor
flat on the outskirts of Turin and threatened to start shooting
Thursday.
The man, reportedly of Calabrian origin, said he was being
persecuted and shouted from the balcony barely intelligible
phrases against the mafia, demanding to see journalists.
The man piled up chairs, tables and other pieces of furniture
against the flat's door.
He broadcast the scene on Facebook, showing a handgun on his
bed.
The man threw from the balcony documents, videocassettes,
furniture and a Venetian blind.
Police laid out an inflatable mattress in case he decided to
jump and negotiators started talking him down.
A merchant in Calabrian goods, the man has a shop in Via
Forlì.
An acquaintance at the scene said: "He seemed to be a quiet
guy, he was working up till yesterday".
The man was still holed up and refusing to let police in or
to come down after several hours Thursday evening.
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