Police officer and three Napoli fans shot ahead of Copa Italia final

A firefighter (C) is injured after been hit by a flare before the TIM Cup final match between ACF Fiorentina and SSC Napoli at Olimpico Stadium on May 3, 2014 in Rome, Italy.

Ahead of Napoli’s Copa Italia final clash against Fiorentina, a police officer and three Napoli supporters were left injured by gunshots fired during violent clashes in Rome.

One of the supporters who was shot in the chest while the other two were both shot in the arms, reports the Daily Mail. They have all been taken to the Villa San Pietro hospital. The police officer who was shot in the hand was not in his uniform.

It has been confirmed that the shooting had no correlation to the Copa final, and was just an incident that went out of control.

In a statement released by the police authorities, it was stated, “A 30-year-old injured in the torso was taken to the Villa San Pietro hospital along with a 43-year-old man struck on the right hand. A third person, aged 32, was taken to the Santo Spirito hospital with gunshot wounds to an arm and a hand. The pistol presumably used in the shootings has been recovered.”

“The investigators are listening to witness statements. At the moment the triple event does not seem to be linked to any trouble between fans, but was rather a coincidence.”

The match was delayed by 45 minutes, and kicked off at 7 pm GMT after Napoli captain Marek Hamsik tried to resolve the situation by consulting with the Napoli Ultras members.

http://youtu.be/HYh5Hz67UzU

Football fan and a police officer have been shot in Rome ahead of the Italian cup final between Napoli and Fiorentina pic.twitter.com/EYDDyfxbXO

— Terrace Life (@TerraceLife_) May 3, 2014

It was Rafael Benitez’s side who ultimately emerged out victorious after the match ended 3-1 in Napoli’s favour.