Riot in Como prison after an escape attempt: four injured, one inmate seriously injured. Major police intervention.

Tension is high at the Bassone prison in Como, where a violent riot erupted on Thursday following a failed escape attempt. Four people were injured: one inmate in serious condition, rushed to the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, and three prison officers with minor injuries, rushed to the Sant'Anna Hospital in Como.

According to initial reports, the riot broke out in the early afternoon after an inmate attempted to escape from the facility on Via Bassone. During the tense moments following the escape attempt, an officer was reportedly forced to take refuge in a closet to avoid being attacked by several enraged inmates. The incident quickly escalated into a full-blown internal riot, involving an unknown number of inmates.

The intervention of the police and the wounding of the prisoner

By late afternoon, numerous emergency vehicles had gathered in the forecourt of the prison: a dozen ambulances, firefighters, Carabinieri patrols, police, and financial police. A massive security cordon had been set up around the facility.
The seriously injured inmate was reportedly crushed between the leaves of a metal gate, suffering chest trauma. He was rushed to Monza Hospital, where he remains hospitalized with a critical prognosis.

The Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP) announced this evening that "order was quickly restored, thanks to the timely and effective intervention of the Penitentiary Police Force, who acted immediately, bringing the situation back under control without further problems." The alarm was lifted when all sections of the facility were returned under full control.

Chronic overcrowding and staff shortages

The Bassone prison has long been the focus of complaints from prison unions due to chronic overcrowding. In July, official figures indicated 424 inmates, compared to a maximum capacity of 265.
"The situation is now unsustainable," declared Gennarino De Fazio, Secretary General of the Uilpa Penitentiary Police. "The prison system is in a profound state of emergency that has persisted for far too long, with no adequate measures in sight to address it. Nationally, we have over 63.500 inmates for only 46.304 available places; in Lombardy, 9.000 inmates are crammed into 5.734 places, managed by just 3.682 officers, when at least 6.000 are needed."

The Osapp union, through its general secretary Leo Beneduci, added that "tensions in the Como prison had been ongoing for over a week and that serious negligence had been observed on the part of the regional superintendent, whose necessary replacement is hoped for." "This situation," he continued, "is similar to that of many penitentiaries, where inmates have taken control of the prison's operations. In this way, neither the safety and security of staff are guaranteed, nor the interests of the community outside the prison, where inmates, far from having recovered, return."

“Prison staff in serious danger”

Aldo Di Giacomo, general secretary of the Fsa Cnpp-Spp union, also denounced the gravity of the situation: "We have long been denouncing a climate of growing tension in Italian prisons. This riot risks being only the first of a new escalation of violence."

According to Di Giacomo, emergency management can no longer be entrusted solely to mobile task forces, but urges the state to regain control of prisons, which today appear increasingly in the hands of criminal gangs.

Precedents and explosive climate

Tension had already erupted in the Como prison in recent days, including a mattress set on fire and three officers being assaulted and forced to seek medical attention. "What happened was predictable," said Domenico Benemia, Uilpa secretary for Lombardy. "We need more staff, more efficient management of resources, and a comprehensive reform of the prison system."

The general secretary of Sappe, the Autonomous Union of Penitentiary Police, Donato Capece, also defined "The inmates' conduct is irresponsible and extremely serious. We receive daily complaints highlighting the high tension in Lombardy's prisons. We call for urgent action."

A new emergency elsewhere too

While calm was slowly returning to Bassone, another suicide occurred in Torre del Gallo prison in Pavia: a 30-year-old North African inmate took his own life by hanging himself in the shower room. This incident, once again, highlights the profound crisis of the entire Italian prison system, increasingly marked by violence, overcrowding, and desperation.