German shoots two Italians after pub football row - police
A German man shot two Italians in a pub on Monday, killing one and
leaving the other fighting for his life, after a row about past World
Cup performances of their respective teams, police said.
"According to our current investigations, the three men got into an
argument in the pub in the morning about, among other things, the
success of Italy and Germany in previous World Cups," police in Hanover,
northern Germany, said.
"After this, the suspect is thought to have left the pub, returned a
bit later and fired at the two victims," the statement said.
One 47-year-old Italian died mid-morning of his injuries in hospital.
The other, 49, is in a critical condition. Police are now urgently
searching for the suspect, a 42-year-old German man from Hanover.
Authorities found a weapon, a 9mm pistol, in the vicinity of the pub.
The two respective teams, Italy and Germany, have had very different
experiences in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Italy came into the
competition as one of the favourites after winning the 2006 World Cup
but crashed out in the group stages after a humiliating loss to
Slovakia.
On the other side, a young German team have stormed to the
semi-finals, with a 4-1 win over England and a 4-0 humiliation of a
strong Argentina team.
However, historically, Italy has won the World Cup more times than
Germany, with four victories (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) compared to three
(1954, 1974, 1990). BERLIN, AFP
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