Teenager Antonella Lopez killed in mafia-style shooting at Bahia Beach Club

“You have reached your uncle,” was written on the wall of Antonella Lopez, the nineteen-year-old girl shot dead last night at the Bahia Beach nightclub in Molfetta (Bari). The girl was the niece of Ivan Lopez, who was killed on September 29, 2021 in an ambush on the IX May seafront in Bari, in the San Girolamo district. The crime was committed – according to the indictment – by men acting on behalf of the Capriati mafia clan of Old Bari and the Parisi-Palermiti clan of the Japigia district, in conflict with the Strisciuglio clan, which had dominance in San Paolo and San Girolamo. Also injured in yesterday's ambush was twenty-year-old Eugenio Palermiti, an aspiring boss of the homonymous mafia family of Japigia. Antonella Lopez: who is the victim of the murder on Bahia Beach in Molfetta, killed by a fatal shot in the shoulder? Antonella was hit by the shots fired in the nightclub. According to investigators, there were “numerous”. One of the bullets hit the victim in the shoulder, fatally injuring some blood vessels connected to the aorta. Several witnesses are being questioned by the authorities. “You were my favorite colleague, my sister, say hello to my father.” And again: “Fly as high as you can, you were a spectacle.” These are some of the condolences posted on social media as a comment on the 19-year-old's last post from three days ago. The young victim's social media page also features videos of her uncle Ivan Lopez. A year ago, Antonella wrote a long message on her social media wall in memory of her uncle, who was killed in the ambush in San Girolamo. “365 days that I haven't seen you… 365 days that I haven't heard your voice… 365 days that I haven't seen those big blue eyes… 365 days that half of my heart is lost… I miss seeing you walk through the door, I miss hugging you, I miss hearing your voice, I miss arguing… 365 days that my life isn't the same, every day I live with the hope of waking up and saying, 'It was just a bad dream.' You can't even imagine how much strength it takes to face this life without you, without your advice. My heart, the emptiness you left is huge, I still can't believe it. Today we return to that terrible day that marked the lives of those who truly loved you… Never let go of my hand, I know you're there!” Photos of Ivan Lopez appear alongside the message. The girl's profile contains typical photos of a nineteen-year-old: mirror selfies, photos on the beach and a pain that had accompanied her for two years due to the loss of her uncle. Antonella Lopez was killed like her uncle Ivan Lopez. The 19-year-old victim's relationship with Ivan Lopez, the injury to Eugenio Palermiti and the mafia-like methods of the ambush led the DDA of Bari to take over the coordination of the Carabinieri investigation, which had initially been entrusted to the Trani Public Prosecutor's Office. Davide Lepore and Giovanni Didonna, aged 30 and 28, are on trial for the murder of Ivan Lopez. The two are accused of multiple counts of aggravated murder as part of a conspiracy, with the aggravating circumstance of mafia-like method. Ivan Lopez, 31, was killed by at least six shots as he was riding home on an electric scooter. Lepore, according to the prosecution, is said to have been the material executor of the murder, while Didonna is said to have helped in the commission of the crime by stealing – about twenty days earlier in Polignano a Mare – an Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a Fiat 500 L, which were then actually used to reach the victim near his house. Antonella Lopez, like her uncle Ivan Lopez, was killed in an ambush. Lopez, according to the investigators, is said to have been killed in revenge for having committed extortions together with his brother Francesco (now a judicial employee) against Lepore, the owner of some car repair shops in Bari and near the Capriati clan of the old town (and previously of the Parisi-Palermiti clan). The Lopez brothers, on the other hand, were members of the Strisciuglio clan. According to investigators, the murder occurred in the context of “friction and opposing fire actions between the Strisciuglio clan” and the Parisi-Palermiti clan of Japigia, which began in the summer of 2021.