Table of Contents
- Tragic Death During Christmas Celebrations
- Choking Incident Details
- Family Reaction
- Horror Shooting Incident
- Investigation Details
A man has sadly passed away during his family's Christmas celebrations after choking on a piece of holiday bread.
Giovanni Lopez, 47, was enjoying a slice of Italian panettone during a Christmas Eve lunch when tragedy struck.
Giovanni Lopez (right) died after choking on a piece of panettone on Christmas EveCredit: Newsflash
A piece of the traditional sweet Italian bread combined with a slice of mandarin blocked his airwaysCredit: Getty
The man, from Settimo Torinese in the Italian region of Piedmont, collapsed while dining with his family at his parents’ home.
Efforts were made to assist him, and emergency services were alerted.
An ambulance arrived at the residence at 2:30 PM on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite the paramedics' best resuscitation efforts, they could not save Lopez.
A medical examiner later confirmed the cause of death.
Investigators reported that Lopez's airways had been obstructed by a chunk of panettone—a traditional Italian sweet bread—combined with a piece of fresh mandarin.
The choking incident was ruled an accident.
In a heartfelt post on Facebook, Lopez’s brother, Domenico, expressed, “Giovanni, you will always be in our hearts.”
“You were pure, generous, and kind, perhaps too much so,” he wrote.
“You always thought of others and never of yourself.
“I hope the Lord will be kind to you and that you have moved on to a better life. I love you, my brother.”
This Italian tragedy follows another horrific incident where a mother and her 13-year-old daughter were critically injured in a shooting.
Authorities confirmed that Jason Kenney, 47, died by suicide after the shocking incident on Monday.
The tragic event occurred during a televised NFL game, where Kenney fatally shot his wife, Crystal, and injured his stepdaughter before taking his own life.
Sheriff Grady Judd from Polk County in Florida stated that police were notified by Crystal’s 12-year-old son, who had escaped to a neighboring house.
The couple's one-year-old daughter was found unharmed and asleep in her crib.
Crystal was killed by Jason Kenney on the Monday before ChristmasCredit: Facebook
He also shot Crystal’s 13-year-old daughter, who remains in critical but stable conditionCredit: Facebook
The late-night argument was ignited when Crystal objected to Jason continuing to watch the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts inside the house.
A search of their home revealed that the couple had been facing personal struggles, including a note from Crystal urging her husband to seek help for addiction issues.
“You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not how a family should be. You need God,” it stated.
According to the Polk County Sheriff, Jason had been drinking and watching the game in a shed away from the house but returned inside for the final moments.
Police officers arrived after the 12-year-old boy reported hearing gunfire, discovering Crystal deceased inside the house with a gunshot wound to her head.
They later found her in a bedroom with two gunshot wounds: one to her face and another to her shoulder.
“She said, ‘I begged him, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me,’ and he shot me anyway,” Sheriff Judd recounted during a police conference, recalling what the girl told him.
She remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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