NAPLES, Italy, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Italy may send army troops to quell rising crimes in Naples, where an 18-year-old youth was stabbed to death Tuesday, the third such killing in as many days.
Justice Minister Clemente Mastella said that the army idea "is no longer a taboo because something must be done to ease the insecurity and fear felt by many of the locals" in the southern Italian city, reports the ANSA news agency.
The youth reportedly was stabbed by a 16-year-old in an argument over a former girl friend. Another 18-year-old was seriously injured in the incident.
In the other two incidents, a 45-year-old woman was gunned down in a sports shop in a Naples suburb. Police suspect her killing is linked to a turf war between rival clans. Earlier, a Naples shop owner shot and killed a thief who was threatening the owner's son with a gun, the report said.
Local media reports say the crime wave has caused the deaths of 66 people in and around Naples since the start of the year. Many politicians say the only way to fight the problem is to send in troops, similar to a measure taken in Sicily in 1992 through 1998.
