Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 11:50PM BST 23 Aug 2010
Father Francesco Cassol, 55, was camping with colleagues in a national park in the southern Puglia region of Italy when he was shot dead in his sleeping bag in the middle of the night.
Police believe that a hunter looking for wild boar may have mistaken his silhouette for a boar crouched in bushes and fired a shot without checking the target.
The priest was hit in the stomach and is believed to have died almost instantly.
Crime scene investigators found a brass cartridge 30 yards from the body of the priest.
They believe it came from a high-powered hunting rifle which is used almost exclusively for hunting large animals such as boar.
The accident happened near the town of Altamura, close to Puglia's border with the neighbouring region of Basilicata.
The hunter is believed to have fled the scene – Don Cassol's colleagues heard a shot just after midnight and then the distant sound of a car being started. Police are appealing for him to give himself up.
The priest's colleagues told police that he had not quarrelled with anyone during the spiritual retreat and were mystified as to why anyone would want to harm him.
The incident is being investigated by police and magistrates in Bari, the provincial capital of Puglia, which forms the heel of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula.
Italian hunters have a reputation for cavalier behaviour – each year dozens are injured and a few killed after being accidentally shot by fellow enthusiasts.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/7960132/Italian-priest-shot-dead-after-being-mistaken-for-wild-boar.html
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