Carabinieri officer Mario Cerciello Rega's wife, Rosa Maria, right, follows the coffin containing the body of her husband during his funeral in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana, near Naples, southern Italy, Monday, July 29, 2019. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Associated Press
ROME (AP) - The Latest on the slaying of an Italian police officer and two American suspects (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
The uncle of one of the teens jailed in Italy for the fatal stabbing of a police officer says his nephew took part in organized fights between boys in high school.
The uncle of Finnegan Lee Elder told The Associated Press on Tuesday that "fight nights" in a popular San Francisco park were well-known and "apparently resulted in many injuries."
Sean Elder says his nephew didn't have a criminal record or discipline records from school.
Finnegan Elder, who is 19, and Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, who is 18, were taken into custody hours after the slaying of Carabinieri Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega early Friday.
A judge said Elder told authorities he stabbed a man he later discovered was a police officer because he feared he was being strangled. The judge noted the teen lacked neck marks consistent with attempted strangulation.
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1:10 p.m.
Italian authorities say a Carabinieri police officer who was fatally stabbed during a confrontation with two American teenagers over a botched drug deal had forgotten his gun that night - but that regardless, there wasn't time for him or his partner to use their weapons and the suspects then fled.
Carabinieri Gen. Francesco Gargaro defended the police response during a press conference Tuesday, providing the first details about the confrontation in which Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was fatally stabbed.
Americans Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, and Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 18, were arrested early Friday in the slaying of Cerciello Rega.
He and his partner, Andrea Varriale, had responded to the scene after a man reported to police that the two Americans had stolen his bag during a drug deal.
This picture released by Italian Carabinieri during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, July 30, 2019, shows the knife used to stab Carabinieri's officer Mario Cerciello Rega early Friday. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Associated Press
In this photo released by Carabinieri, is portrayed officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed to death in Rome early Friday, July 26, 2019. Italian police said Saturday that two 19-year-old American tourists have confessed to fatally stabbing the Italian paramilitary policeman who was investigating the theft of a bag with a cellphone.
The Associated Press
In this combo photo released by Italian Carabinieri, Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, right, and Finnegan Lee Elder, sit in their hotel room in Rome. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities carry out a murder investigation in the killing of Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35. A detention order issued by prosecutors was shown on Italian state broadcaster RAI, naming the suspects as Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth and Finnegan Lee Elder. (Italian Carabinieri via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo obtained from Italian Carabinieri, Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth sits blindfolded in a police station in Rome on Friday July 26, 2019. Natale-Hjorth, a suspect in the slaying of police officer Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega, was blindfolded before he was interrogated in Rome, an Italian police commander said Sunday July 28 after the emergence of a photo showing the young tourist restrained with handcuffs and with his head bowed. Natale-Hjorth and another suspect from California, 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder remain jailed, while the murdered police officer Mario Cerciello Rega is to be buried in southern Italy on Monday. (Italian Carabinieri via AP)
The Associated Press
People unfold a banner reading in Italian: "Forever with us", and bearing a photograph of Carabinieri's officer Mario Cerciello Rega during his funeral in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana, near Naples, southern Italy, Monday, July 29, 2019. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Associated Press
Carabinieri officer Mario Cerciello Rega's wife, Rosa Maria, right, follows the coffin containing the body of her husband during his funeral in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana, near Naples, southern Italy, Monday, July 29, 2019. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Associated Press
The picture of Carabinieri's officer Mario Cerciello Rega is shown during his funeral in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana, near Naples, southern Italy, Monday, July 29, 2019. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (Ciro Fusco/ANSA via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo release by Italian Carabinieri, Finnegan Lee Elder sits in his hotel room in Rome. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities carry out a murder investigation in the killing of Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35. A detention order issued by prosecutors was shown on Italian state broadcaster RAI, naming the suspects as Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth and Finnegan Lee Elder. (Italian Carabinieri via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo release by Italian Carabinieri, Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth sits in his hotel room in Rome. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities carry out a murder investigation in the killing of Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35. A detention order issued by prosecutors was shown on Italian state broadcaster RAI, naming the suspects as Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth and Finnegan Lee Elder. (Italian Carabinieri via AP)
The Associated Press
CORRECTS SPELLING OF PERSON AT RIGHT FROM GARGANO TO GARGARO - From left, Carabinieri Colonel Lorenzo D'Aloia, prosecutors Nunzia D'Elia, and Michele Pristipino, and Carabinieri General Francesco Gargaro arrive to a press conference about the investigation on the murder of Carabinieri's officer Mario Cerciello Rega in Rome, Tuesday, July 30, 2019. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Associated Press
The coffin containing the body of the Carabinieri's officer Mario Cerciello Rega is carried during his funeral in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana, near Naples, southern Italy, Monday, July 29, 2019. Two American teenagers were jailed in Rome on Saturday as authorities investigate their alleged roles in the fatal stabbing of the Italian police officer on a street near their hotel. (Cesare Abbate/ANSA via AP)
The Associated Press