Bressanone: “Maturaball” evening, more than 200 young people with tickets tried to forcefully break through the military cordon

The evening of the “MATURABALL” scheduled at the “Forum” in Bressanone, a municipal structure capable of hosting approximately 1.000 people, ended in the worst possible way. Realizing that the influx inside was now well beyond what was permitted, the municipal officials asked the police and the stewards to block the entrances. At that point about 200 young people, many of them under the influence of alcohol and almost all of them, in possession of tickets that had been imprudently sold to them by the organizers, well beyond the permitted capacity, attempted by force to break through the cordon of Police, Carabinieri and Stewards, but were only pushed back with difficulty.

Inside, in the meantime, also due to the fact that a minor girl had completely lost consciousness in the toilets of the Forum after abusing alcohol, and there were difficulties in providing assistance due to the crowd and the beginning of a fight, with broken glass and bottles left on the ground, which broke out in an attempt to give support to the young people who were opposing the Police Force from outside in order to be able to enter, the Director of the Public Order Service, on the orders of the Quaestor of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano Paolo Sartori, gave the peremptory order to stop the music, turn on all the lights and immediately provide medical assistance to the girl and the other young people in difficulty, thanks to an ambulance and the paramedics sent to the scene urgently by the local Civil Hospital.

Once the more than 200 young people who had been prevented from entering had been removed with difficulty, the safe evacuation of all those who were still inside began., with some parents of the boys who, not having knowledge of what really happened during the evening, complained about the interruption of the Maturaball ordered by the Authorities. Investigations are now underway to identify who administered the alcoholic substances to the minor girl., as well as those who instigated the attempt to force the Public Order device placed at the entrance to the Forum.

Furthermore, the organizers of the “Maturaball” will be sanctioned for not having respected the rules that regulate the sale of tickets in numbers not exceeding the capacity of the Venue, as well as for any other infringement that may be found against them.

"What was supposed to be a festive evening unfortunately ended in the worst possible way, due to the improvisation and lack of professionalism shown by the organizers, as well as the violent and careless behavior towards the health and safety of the young people., mostly minors, carried out by others, with the concrete risk that everything could degenerate further – he was keen to point out Police Commissioner Paolo Sartori –. It is unacceptable that those who go to a public place to spend a peaceful evening should run such risks due to the recklessness of the behavior of individuals who do not respect Laws and Institutions. My decision to suspend the Maturaball, in this context, was necessary to guarantee the safety and security of hundreds of kids in the face of a situation that, precisely, could have easily turned into a tragedy.".