They wanted the gesture to be unmistakable: not far from the car they left an empty petrol can. That tank was used during the night between Friday and Saturday to pour the accelerant to set fire to the car of Piera Pittalis , an esteemed lawyer from Nuoro . He is yet another professional targeted by attackers in the city. A very serious gesture, which throughout the Province now increasingly sees justice workers in the crosshairs: a few days ago it happened to a carabinieri marshal in Siniscola, a few months earlier also in the Baronie city, to another lawyer, Martina Cocco.
The attack
For two days the news remained highly confidential. The flames were set between Friday and Saturday, in via Monte Nero in the Preda Istrada district. A small street which overlooks the rear part of the Civil Engineering building, and which as the crow flies is more or less one hundred and fifty meters from the Police Headquarters in Viale Europa.
The car was parked on a steeply sloping road, in an area full of cameras. But this did not stop the criminal(s) . As usual, whoever acted did so in the dark, armed with a can of petrol, poured the liquid on the front of lawyer Pittalis' Nissan Juke and then set it on fire. The crackling of the flames and the acrid smell woke the residents and the alarm was raised. A team of the Nuoro firefighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire which risked damaging other cars, while police cars also rushed to the scene.
Lawyers in the crosshairs
There is no doubt about the malicious origin of the fire , investigators found the canister at the site which is thought to have been used to transport the accelerant. Perhaps left there on purpose, an even stronger gesture so as not to fuel doubts about the origin of the fire. A very serious act. Now the investigations launched by the police will have to shed light on the motive and perpetrators. Whether the reason is linked to Pittalis' professional activity or something else. Certainly a gesture that undermines not only the serenity of a woman, a professional, but which creates insecurity throughout the environment. A climate that harks back to darker periods of the city forum, when Nuoro lawyers were in the sights of criminals and where there was no shortage of messages entrusted to bombs. Today, however, those who act in the dark strike as close as possible to their victim, often using petrol and a lighter: easy to find for anyone and equally devastating.
Fabio Ledda
