Rome court gives 22-year-old 4-month suspended sentence for shooting at Anpi militants

The shooting at Parco Schuster

On 25 April 2026, during a march marking Liberation Day in Rome, Eitan Bondì rode a scooter to the Parco Schuster area carrying a softair pistol. According to investigators, he fired from a few metres away at Anpi militants, wounding a man and a woman who wore the association's scarf around their necks. Anpi reports that the two were hurt in the face and the right shoulder. Digos officers later searched his home and found three rifles, several pistols and some knives, and Bondì holds a licence for sport firearms. Surveillance footage showed him on a white Honda SH scooter as he fired, which allowed investigators to identify him.

Arrest, custody and his statements

Bondì was arrested two days after the shooting and taken to Regina Coeli prison, initially facing a charge of attempted murder. At the custody hearing he chose not to answer questions but made spontaneous statements to the judge. The judge who ordered his house arrest described the act as entirely irrational and found no underlying motive behind it. AGI reported that Bondì admitted firing at the two militants and then getting rid of the weapon. The house arrest measure was later revoked.

Bondì apologised for the attack and rejected any political or ideological background, saying:

“I take responsibility for this deplorable gesture. I am ashamed of what I did and express solidarity with the injured people and with those who felt offended by my gesture.”

In front of the judge he also stated that he had no link to the Jewish Brigade:

“I want to make clear that I am not part of any group. There are no political or ideological motives behind my gesture.”

The verdict

On 5 November the gup of Rome, after an abbreviated trial, sentenced Bondì to four months with the sentence suspended. The judge reclassified the charge from attempted aggravated injury to simple assault and acquitted him of carrying a weapon illegally in a public place. Prosecutors had asked for a two-year sentence, and Anpi is a civil party to the case. One of the two militants withdrew the complaint against him. Defence lawyers Cesare Gai and Gianluca Tognozzi represented him, and Gai said on leaving the courtroom that Bondì wants to forget the story.

Prosecution request24

Sentence imposed4

Prosecution request

24 months

Sentence imposed

4 months

Data from the article text

Anpi's response

Marina Pierlorenzi, president of the Anpi provincial committee in Rome, said the association was unhappy with the downgrade of the charge:

“It seems unfair to us that the offence was downgraded, because our marchers were guilty only of wearing the scarf.”

She added that Anpi had received no apology from anyone and called the attack on the 25 April commemoration an assault on the Constitution, since the day is dedicated to freedom for all. Pierlorenzi said that the association is now waiting to read the reasons for the ruling. She also said that, at the time, no one could know what kind of weapon had been used, and that after helping the injured the group reassured the other marchers.