Sicilian Council Worker Kills Five

A Sicilian council worker worried about his job prospects shot dead the mayor of Aci Castello and four other people in a killing spree that initially raised the spectre of mafia or politically inspired violence.

The man, who had been employed by the council on a short-term contract as part of a social programme to reduce unemployment, stormed into the office of the mayor, Michele Toscano, shooting him repeatedly in the chest and head with a pistol.

He also killed two female workers in another municipal office, a man who happened to pass him on the stairs and a pensioner on a park bench.

Local officials said the suspect, 32-year-old Giuseppe Leotta, had a history of mental problems and bore a grudge against the mayor because his application to become his driver had been turned down.

Mr Leotta had worked as a custodian of the Norman castle that gives Aci Castello its name and had also looked after children at a primary school.

The shooting caused panic in the quiet seaside town in eastern Sicily and police advised other council employees to lock themselves in their homes while the gunman was on the loose. A manhunt was launched with police helicopters, and roads outside the town were blocked.

Shotguns legally held for sporting purposes and a large quantity of ammunition were found at Mr Leotta's home, where he had lived with his parents until recently.

Neighbours described Mr Leotta as "a strange loner", and said he had once attacked his brother with an axe, but the episode had not been reported to police. Locals said the town, surrounded by olive and orange groves, and shadowed by Mount Etna had never seen such violence before.

"I'm speechless. The election campaign has been stained with blood," said Raffaele Lombardo, a local representative of the centrist Christian Democrat Union. Sicily is preparing for local elections this month.

Mr Toscano had been mayor for just under a year. A respected local doctor, he was a member of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party.

"What I saw was a real massacre, a terrible sight," said Father Vittorio Rocca, the parish priest, who was one of the first people to arrive on the scene.

"The mayor was lying in his office in a pool of blood. The killer had shot him several times, aiming at the face and heart," Fr Rocca told the ADN-Kronos news agency.

The priest said Mr Leotta had been employed by a cooperative which worked for the council, but his contract had not been renewed.

Unemployment is a sensitive issue in southern Italy, where the jobless rate is 19%, compared with a national average of 9%. In some areas it approaches 30%.

Italians are due to vote next month in a referendum on a new law to increase the flexibility of the job market by reducing legal protections against arbitrary dismissal.

The measure, introduced by the Berlusconi government against fierce trade union opposition, is intended to boost small businesses.