Italian MP Pozzolo causes public outrage after shooting a man at a New Year's Eve celebration.

An incident at a New Year's Eve party involving a gunshot fired from a gun owned by an Italian far-right MP has sparked a political backlash. Emanuele Pozzolo, a member of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, admitted bringing the gun but denied firing the shot. A man at the party was lightly wounded in the leg and received treatment at the hospital. The leader of the center-left opposition has called for action to be taken by Ms. Meloni. Local prosecutors have launched an investigation into the shooting, which took place in the town of Rosazza. Party colleague Andrea Delmastro, a junior justice minister, was present at the celebration, and the injured man was related to a member of his security team. Mr. Pozzolo, who has a house in Rosazza, reportedly showed guests his mini-revolver before it accidentally went off and injured one of them. Mr. Delmastro claims he was not aware that Mr. Pozzolo had a gun in his possession when the incident occurred. The victim was taken to the hospital and discharged the following day. Mr. Pozzolo stated that although the shot was fired accidentally, he was not the one who fired it. Prime Minister Meloni's party emphasized that the incident had no political significance and that appropriate measures would be taken if Mr. Pozzolo was found to have acted inappropriately. However, political opponents of the Brothers of Italy party criticized their handling of the situation. Mr. Pozzolo was previously a member of Matteo Salvini's League before joining Brothers of Italy, and he has expressed anti-vaccine sentiments and opposition to Italy's "Green Pass" system. In a separate incident, a woman was shot and killed at another New Year's Eve celebration near Naples, and a man has been arrested in connection with the incident.