ROME, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Interior Minister Anna Cancellieri called on Italians to reflect on what happened during New Year's celebrations in which two people died and 561 were injured.
Cancellieri said the figures read more like a "war report" than a celebration, ANSA reported Monday.
"A serious reflection is needed and more rigor," Cancellieri said in Monday's edition of the Genoan newspaper, Secolo XIX. "Enough. Two deaths at New Year is crazy."
The toll was high despite a number of towns and cities banning the Italian tradition of setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve and police seized tons of illegal fireworks recently, officials said.
A 39-year-old man was killed Sunday. He was hit by a bullet after someone fired a gun in celebration in Naples province, officials said.
In Rome, a 31-year-old man died after fireworks exploded in his home, police said. Three children were injured in the blast.
Of the 561 injured, 76 were children, ANSA said.
Police in the resort community of Riccione reported a statue of Pope John Paul II was wrecked by vandals New Year's Eve. Officials said they were searching for the people who cut off the statue's head and hands.
