Two American teenagers arrested on Saturday were accused of stabbing a 35-year-old police officer to death in Rome, Italian officials said.

On Friday morning, two teenagers identified as Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, and Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 18, killed Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega, a member of Carabinieri paramilitary corps, who had recently returned to work after his honeymoon.The suspects, both born in San Francisco, have admitted to the crime, according to the Carabinieri press office. "We are shocked and dismayed at the events that have been reported," Elder's family said in a statement.

The family expressed condolences to the policeman's family and "all of those who have been impacted by this tragedy.""Hoping that the killer of our poor Carabiniere never gets out of prison, I remind do-gooders that in the United States, whoever kills risks the death penalty," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted. "I'm not saying we'll get to that, but yes to a life in prison." The suspects will remain in jail during the investigation.

Xinhua