A 27-year-old Gambian man, Ebrima Dibba, was shot and killed on Wednesday evening in the Italian city of Latina, south of Rome, in what police are treating as a targeted street attack.
The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. on Viale XXIV Maggio, in front of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, near the Villaggio Trieste neighborhood.
Witnesses told investigators that several shots were fired from a small dark car or minicar that approached the sidewalk and then sped away. The victim, identified as Ebrima Dibba, was walking when he was hit. Emergency services rushed him to Santa Maria Goretti Hospital in critical condition. He died a few hours later.
Italian police said the man had been living in Italy for about two years. He was irregularly present and already subject to an expulsion order. Early checks by the Latina police headquarters found no serious criminal convictions, only minor police notes.
The Mobile Squad, working under the Latina prosecutor’s office, is examining CCTV footage, witness statements and the route taken by the fleeing vehicle. Investigators are also looking at whether the killing grew out of a dispute linked to drug dealing. A friend of the victim reportedly told police there had been an argument earlier that evening in another location.
Latina Mayor Matilde Celentano convened an emergency meeting of the provincial public-order and security committee on Thursday morning as the city digested the killing in a busy central street.
Some Italian outlets first described the victim as 30 years old; later reports, including from ANSA, said he was 27. No suspects have been named, and no arrests have been announced.
The case is still developing. Community sources in the Gambian diaspora have identified the dead man as Ebrima Dibba. Italian authorities and the Gambian embassy had not confirmed the details at the time of writing.
The Alkamba Times will update this story as investigators in Latina release further details.
