Mobster’s niece, 19, shot dead at beach club in Italy amid bloody mafia feud between ruling crime families
A MOBSTER'S niece was shot dead in a nightclub as part of a suspected mafia war.
Antonia Lopez, 19, was reportedly killed as scores were being settled between gangs involved in drug trafficking and extortion.
The young woman was gunned down at Bahia nightclub in Puglia, Italy, as Michele Lavopa, 21, allegedly sought to kill a different man - Eugenio Palermiti, 21.
Lavopa handed himself into police after his mother convinced him to and confessed, .
He has now been charged with voluntary homicide, quadruple attempted homicide, and possession and carrying of a firearm.
The three involved were all scions of different criminal gangs, with Lopez pals with target Palermiti.
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Lavopa allegedly fired seven bullets, with one hitting Lopez in the shoulder, severing her aorta and killing her in minutes.
Her family is thought to have a long connection with the mafia with many being members of the Strisciuglio clan, the reports.
Her father is serving a life sentence in prison for murder and grievous bodily harm.
His grandfather is understood to be the long-time boss of the group.
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The Strisciuglio clan, made up of Ivan and Francesco Lopez, were reportedly at war with the rival Parisi-Palermiti clan.
Four other people in their 20s were injured in the shooting.
One of those injured was Eugenio Palermiti, an alleged member of the Palermiti clan.
Authorities now fear this could ignite a gang war and a specialist anti-mafia unit is now investigating the killing.
Puglia's governor Michele Emiliano said: “This is the umpteenth clash between criminal gangs who are fighting to control nightclubs and drug dealing.”
Michele Picaro, an MEP from the region, said: “We’ve reached the point where people’s safety is being put seriously at risk, even in places of entertainment and leisure.
"Our cities must not fall into the hands of criminal bands.”
