Milan court shooting: Fraud defendant's killing spree that left three dead prompts security alert in Italy

Regional governor denounces 'incomprehensible' safety lapse after a judge and two others are fatally shot before the gunman fled on a motorbike

Policemen run out of the tribunal building in Milan, Italy, after a shooting was reported inside a courtroom (AP)

Italy’s Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, has ordered an urgent security review after a defendant shot dead a judge and two others in a Milan courtroom before fleeing on a motorbike.

Judge Fernando Ciampi died after the gunman opened fire at Milan’s Palace of Justice. Mr Ciampi, 71, was hit by two bullets while trying to protect a colleague, according to local reports.

Roberto Maroni, the governor of Lombardy region, said it was “shocking that someone can enter the Palace of Justice with a gun without being stopped”. Outrage increased when it emerged that no police officers had been present in the courtroom, meaning the suspect was able to escape. He was later arrested 20 miles away.

Mr Renzi said the security lapse was “incomprehensible”, adding: “We have to find out who and what was to blame. It’s not the first time that it’s happened, but it has to be the last.” Also killed was a lawyer named as Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani, 37, and Giorgio Erba, 60, one of the gunman’s co-accused, who died of his injuries in hospital. Several others were injured.

The prosecutor Luigi Orsi had also appeared to be a target, according to some reports. He escaped harm, but later said: “I saw him hit people. I saw a witness die beside me.”

The gunman was named as Claudio Giardiello, 57, who faced fraudulent bankruptcy charges in the hearing. He is reported to have told police: “I wanted revenge on the people who’ve ruined me.”

According to Milan prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati, Giardiello entered via a side entrance reserved for magistrates, lawyers and reporters, with a fake identity card, which might have precluded his need to pass through a metal detector. He was said to have been smartly dressed and “could have passed for a lawyer”, according to officials.

But the attack may prove a wake-up call to Italy, whose institutions are regularly accused of lax security despite warnings of potential Islamic terror attacks and fears over the approaching Expo World Fair in Milan. Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing Northern League, said: “If this is the level of security at Milan during Expo, I wonder what potential terrorists will think they can do?”

Another Milan magistrate, Gherardo Colombo, accused by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of being a “communist” after he attempted to prosecute the media mogul on corruption charges, said constant criticism of magistrates was adding to the risk they faced.