A mentally deranged man rams car into St Peter's Square, demands to see the Pope

Italy: A mentally deranged man late Friday night rammed his car through a police checkpoint and broke the security barrier around St Peter's Square in Vatican City, before demanding to be given an audience by Pope Francis, said police and media reports.

 

Police said in a report that they arrested a 64-year-old "mentally unstable" man who drove into a one-way street to the left of St Peter's colonnade, crashed past a police vehicle and broke through the wooden barricades that surround the square.

According to a report by Rome-based daily Il Messaggero, the man got out of his car, visibly pushed and started ranting. One of the things he said was, "I want to see the Pope."

The news paper added that the man with mental health issues was taken to a nearby hospital.