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Police operation in front of St. Peter's Square in the Vatican
Photograph:
Andrew Medichini / dpa
A man entered the Vatican with his car on Thursday evening, triggering a major alarm. The vehicle raced through a checkpoint and reached the front door of the Apostolic Palace, according to the Holy See. However, since security measures were quickly taken and the driver was quickly arrested, the situation was defused after a short time.
According to the information, the man, who was around 40 years old, had initially steered his car to the open Sant'Anna Gate near St. Peter's Square and had been turned away there. Then he reversed the car and at high speed overcame the two checkpoints of the Pontifical Swiss Guard and the Gendarmerie Corps of the Vatican State.
A gendarme wanted to stop the car and shot at the front tires with a pistol, but only hit the front left fender. The car did not stop, but continued to enter the Vatican. In the end, he reached the Damasus Courtyard – and thus practically to the entrance of the Apostolic Palace. Here, among other things, state guests are driven up and from there led to the Pope.
Doctors report a "psychophysical disorder"
According to the Vatican, the driver then got out of the car and was arrested by the forces. During an immediate examination, the doctors of the Health Directorate of the Vatican State found a "psychophysical disorder", as it was called. The man – an Italian, according to the Ansa news agency – was taken into custody in the evening in the Vatican gendarmerie barracks.
For Pope Francis, there should never have been a danger: He lives on the other side of the Vatican in the Santa Marta guest house, while former heads of the Catholic Church still resided in their private apartment in the Apostolic Palace. After the incident with the car, an alarm was triggered by radio, and the guards closed an access gate that leads to the back of St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Gardens, as well as Santa Marta Square with the guest house there.
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