They are searching for a prisoner convicted of the deaths of six people after escaping from prison on leave to graduate.

With just half an hour to go before the start of Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta's concert at the Lanterna Azzurra nightclub in Corinaldo (Marche, Italy ), a group of young people pepper-sprayed some of the audience. The act caused panic among the audience and a stampede that resulted in the deaths of five minors and a woman. Now, one of those responsible for the attack has escaped from prison .

Italian authorities are searching in the Emilia Romagna region for Andrea Cavallari , 26, who was convicted as one of those responsible for the Corinaldo tragedy, according to Italian media reports. A member of the so-called "spray gang" for the events at the nightclub in December 2018, he was serving 11 years and 10 months in Bologna prison until he escaped last Thursday, according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday.

Cavallari was scheduled to defend his thesis—a sort of final degree project—at the University of Bologna on July 3 and had obtained permission to attend the event without police surveillance. The young man, who was slated to pursue a degree in Law with a specialization in labor and business consulting, defended his project, earned his degree, and fled while talking to his girlfriend. However, the girl and his parents appear to be unrelated to the escape.

The fugitive was arrested in August 2019 along with six other individuals, all between the ages of 19 and 22, who specialized in pepper-spray robberies. They were convicted of multiple reckless homicide, theft, robbery, and assault for the incident at the Lanterna Azzurra nightclub. In addition to the six dead, the attack left 59 injured.

Under the abbreviated procedure, Cavallari was sentenced to almost 12 years, of which he had already served seven, and would soon be granted a probationary period outside of prison . The prisoner's father has appealed to his son to return voluntarily as soon as possible. Some of the relatives of those killed in Corinaldo have described what happened as an "unpleasant surprise" and have questioned how it was possible, according to La Stampa.