Three gunmen hijack regional bus traveling in northern Italy

Three gunmen hijacked a regional bus traveling in northern Italy and set it on fire after freeing the passengers at a police roadblock. An off-duty police officer was reportedly injured.

Photo: Three gunmen hijack regional bus traveling in northern Italy

The bus was traveling toward Novara, a town about 95 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Turin, when bandits took it over, a police official in Novara said.

The gunmen had forced the driver to turn the bus around. An off-duty police officer who was on board tried to intervene and was stabbed, but was not in serious condition, the ANSA news agency said.

The bus then stopped at a police roadblock and a spokesman at the police station in Novara said that the passengers were freed. He also said that the gunmen had set the bus on fire, but he could not provide further details.

At the police roadblock, one of the gunmen was apprehended, and two others were being sought, ANSA said.