Prosecutors in Pavia, near Milan, have requested 11 years and four months in prison for Massimo Adriatici, a former city councillor responsible for security in the town of Voghera, who is accused of voluntary homicide in the killing of Younes El Boussettaoui, a 39-year-old Moroccan man shot dead on 20 July 2021, local media reported on Wednesday. El Boussettaoui, who was homeless and known locally to suffer from psychological difficulties, died in Piazza Meardi, Voghera's central square, after a bullet fired from Adriatici's .22 Beretta struck him. Adriatici claims the gun went off accidentally when he fell to the ground following a slap from El Boussettaoui during a brief altercation outside a bar. However, a later reconstruction of events contradicted this version. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Adriatici following the victim shortly before the shooting, described by the judge as an «armed patrol» carried out unlawfully against a vulnerable citizen. Investigators also found that his weapon was loaded with a round already chambered and with hollow-point bullets, typically used at shooting ranges rather than for lawful self-defense. The case was initially classified as «excessive self-defence», but a judge ordered prosecutors to revise the charges. The new indictment now accuses Adriatici of voluntary manslaughter, and the victim's family is seeking to join the proceedings as civil parties. The court will rule on the prosecution's sentencing request in the coming sessions.
