Two killed in Italian jewellery shop robbery

Two suspected robbers have been killed following a raid on a jewellery shop in northern Italy, local media reports.

The owner of the store in Grinzane Cavour, about 74km (46m) south of Turin in Italy’s Piedmont region, is said to have opened fire on Wednesday when armed thieves stormed the building.

Two people died in the street near the shop, which was targeted in a separate robbery attempted in 2015, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

A third suspect sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and was admitted to a hospital in the nearby town of Savigliano for treatment, the agency said.

He remains there and is being guarded by the Carabinieri police.

Mayor Gianfranco told local media the details surrounding the attempted robbery remained unclear and he only knew that a "good family has been targeted".

In a message posted on Twitter, Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's League Party and former interior minister, offered his support to the shop owner’s family.

"Defence is always legitimate," he added.

According to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, the shop owner's wife and daughter were inside when the suspects stormed the building.

They were armed with a gun and a knife, the paper said.

Emergency services were dispatched to the scene following the shootings but were unable to save two of the suspects.

The third has been questioned by police.