Vatican City
A Vatican police trainee shot himself in the head this week over a failed love affair, authorities said. Alessandro Benedetti, 26, had just enlisted in the Vatican Gendarmes in April. His body was found in the bathroom of the barracks. “His girlfriend had left him recently,” said Benedetti’s aunt. “Alessandro was so good and handsome.” It was the first killing inside the Vatican since 1998, when a member of the Swiss Guard killed his commander, the commander’s wife, and himself. The Swiss Guard is the elite force that guards the pope. Vatican Gendarmes, who are usually Italian, guard the Vatican compound. Pope Benedict XVI, who was away at the time of the shooting, said he grieved with the family and entrusted Benedetti to God’s mercy.
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