The robbers caused panic at the Piazza San Marco in Venice
ROME, 17 Mar — news, Sergey Startsev. Fear and even panic experienced on Friday, the residents of Venice and tourists, when the clubs dense gray smoke suddenly clouded almost all the world famous Piazza San Marco.
“It happened about two o’clock in the afternoon (16.00 GMT). From the famous Campanile near St. Mark suddenly threw the thick and acrid smoke. In the air spread a nasty chemical smell. Nothing like none of us, the Venetians, had never seen. To be honest, immediately thought of gloomy thoughts about a possible terrorist attack or some event of this kind”, — said by telephone RIA Novosti, the eyewitness of the incident, the Manager of one of the hotels which is located close to the main Cathedral of Venice.
As it turned out, the cause of the unusual incident were the actions of the criminals who attempted to Rob a famous jewelry store located in the heart of Venice. To divert the attention of law enforcement officials, constantly on duty in the area, the robbers blew two smoke bombs near the Campanile in the heart of Piazza San Marco.
While everyone’s attention was drawn to an emergency, armed robbers under the smokescreen tried to enter in the jewelry shop. However, the saleswoman showed admirable composure and, despite the threats of bandits blocked the front door.
The Bell Tower in San Marco Square is filled with smoke as visitors rush out of the doors. The smoke appears to be going upwards #Venice pic.twitter.com/JQWlKRsAm5
— Nicole DeMentri (@nicoledementri) 17 Mar 2017
“Girls refused to obey the criminals and tried through the Windows to show passers-by that the store is trying to Rob. As a result, one of the tourists still raised the alarm and began to call for help. When the robbers were forced to retreat and under cover of smoke fled the scene of the crime”, — told RIA Novosti the hotelier.
According to local media, representatives of the police, carabinieri and anti-terrorist units are currently interviewing the witnesses of the incident and are studying the footage of the cameras installed in Piazza San Marco.