Two teenage U.S. tourists who were classmates at a San Francisco, California school were placed under arrest Saturday after being accused of the fatal stabbing of an Italian paramilitary police officer, Italian authorities say.
According to a statement from the Carabinieri police force, two American teenagers, identified as Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, and Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, 18, confessed to stabbing Mario Cerciello Rega, a Carabinieri paramilitary police officer after they were faced with "overwhelming evidence."
Police say a search of the boys' hotel room revealed a large knife hidden behind a ceiling panel, as well as clothing worn during the stabbing. Authorities said the murder occurred after a drug deal went wrong. Carabinieri police accuse the two men of stealing a backpack from an Italian citizen and threatening that person to give them 100 euros and a gram of cocaine for the bag's return.
An Italian investigator told the Associated Press that the man who had his bag snatched was a drug-dealer who'd just sold the two American tourists a substance other than the cocaine they had asked for. The man contacted police and two plainclothes officers, including the victim, Cerciello Rega, went to confront the two Americans at about 3 a.m. Friday.
The two men immediately fought with police, even as they identified themselves as Carabinieri police. Elder is accused of stabbing Cerciello Rega eight times, while Natale Hjorth allegedly beat the other officer using his bare hands. Cerciello Rega died at a local hospital from his wounds. The second officer was not seriously wounded.
Police were able to identify the two men using surveillance cameras and witnesses.
Cerciello Rega was 35-years-old and had recently returned to duty after returning from his honeymoon.
Under Italian law, those who participate in a killing, but not actually delivering the fatal blow can risk being charged with murder.
"Hoping that the killer of our poor Carabiniere never gets out of prison, I remind do-gooders that in the United States, whoever kills risks the death penalty," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted. "I’m not saying we’ll get to that, but yes to a life in prison (in labor, obviously)."
Formal charges against the two young adults are still pending.