Mentally unstable man crashes car into Vatican
May 19, 2023
Vatican City [Vatican], May 19: A man was arrested after driving past Vatican security and all the way to the main courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope.
The Vatican said the incident happened at 8pm on May 18 when a man in his 40s driving a car at high speed drove through the gate of Saint Ann, one of the many entrances to Vatican City, the country's vast sovereign state. about 44 hectares in the heart of the Italian capital Rome, according to Reuters.
A Vatican police officer opened fire and hit the vehicle, but the man continued to push forward and reached the courtyard of San Damaso, the area of the Apostolic Palace, the residence of the former popes and still the meeting place of the Church . Prince Francis . Currently, Pope Francis lives in a guesthouse on the other side of Vatican City, according to Reuters.
The police activated the alarm and all other entrances were closed. The man was arrested there and held in a Vatican prison. Doctors examined him and said he was mentally unstable.
Most of Vatican City is closed to the public, especially at night.
Although this incident is rare, it is not the first time that someone with a mental disorder has caused trouble in this city. In 2009, a woman jumped over a barricade at St Peter's Basilica on a Christmas Eve and tried to attack Pope Benedict XVI. Even so, the leader of the Catholic Church was not injured.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
