Rome, Jul 28 (IANS): Two American teenagers have been arrested in connection with the stabbing to death of a 35-year-old police officer in Rome, according to the local police.

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 the Carabinieri paramilitary corps, who had recently returned to work after his honeymoon, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

Italian police said that a 19-year-old and 18-year-old from California repeatedly stabbed a police officer as he and a fellow officer confronted them over a possible drug deal gone wrong. Both the suspects were arrested and have admitted to the crime.

"We are shocked and dismayed at the events that have been reported," Elder's family said in a statement.

The accused 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 US, whoever kills risks the death penalty.

"I'm not saying we'll get to that, but yes to life in prison," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted.