An 85-year-old former financier faced a robbery at his home in Bergamo , wounding one of the criminals with a firearm.
The event, according to Italian media, happened around 21:30 on Saturday, in the suburb of Longuelo.
The wounded thief is a 26-year-old Albanian, who received a bullet in the neck, but is not in serious condition.
After the incident, he was arrested by the police near the pensioner's apartment, and after he was given the necessary help in the hospital, he was transferred to the cell.
The co-worker of the injured, also a 26-year-old Albanian, was caught by the police a few hours after the incident.
Both are already behind bars and are accused not only of aggravated robbery, but also of resisting the police.
The pair entered the pensioner's cottage through a window at the back of the house using a lever.
When they entered the apartment, the pensioner was in bed watching TV, while his wife was one floor above.
According to the evidence, the former financier had a pistol hidden under his pillow and did not hesitate to use it to defend himself by shooting once at the perpetrators, enough to make them run away from the house. They managed to take the old man's bag with them.
The event caused alarm in the community and now the Italian authorities are assessing the situation of the 85-year-old man, if he had a permit for the firearm he used.