After the Badoglio proclamation, a division of German SS troops had accasermato in some old stations previously used by the Guardia di Finanza, in the vicinity of Torre di Palidoro, which fell to the territorial jurisdiction of the Torrimpietra police station. Here, on September 22, German soldiers that they inspected abandoned ammunition crates were invested by the explosion of a hand grenade, probably for incompetence in handling unexploded. One of the soldiers died and two others were injured.

The Commander of the German Department attributed the responsibility for what happened to anonymous local bombers and requested the collaboration of the local police station, temporarily commanded by Salvo D'acquisto at the absence of Marshal: commander threatened retaliation if by Sunrise had not been found guilty. The next morning d'acquisto, taken some information, tried to argue that the incident was a fluke, an accident with no authors, but the SS insisted on their version and called for retaliation, pursuant to an Ordinance issued by field marshal Kesselring a few days earlier.

On September 23 were executed and captured 22 roundups of people chosen at random among the inhabitants of the area. The Purchase itself was forcibly taken from the barracks, part of a team armed with SS, and was conducted in the main square in Palidoro, where the hostages were being gathered. A summary was kept "interrogation", during which all the hostages were obviously innocent. The square was also conducted another inhabitant felt a carabiniere, Angelo Amadio, who will be the last witness to the sacrifice of Sergeant.

Again asked for the names of those responsible for Purchasing, reiterated that there could be, because the explosion was accidental, the hostages and the other inhabitants of the area were all innocent. During the interrogation of raked, Petty Officer was kept separate in the square, under close supervision from the German soldiers, "Although beaten and sometimes even beaten by his guardians, he kept Buying a calm and dignified demeanor", as report after Wanda Baglioni, an eyewitness.

The hostages were Purchasing and then transferred out of the country. The hostages were provided with spades and were forced to dig a mass grave in the vicinity of Torre di Palidoro, for now their shooting. The excavation went on for some hours; When they were finished it was clear that the SS would really put in place their threat.

At that point, according to testimony by Angelo Amadio:
« at the last moment, however, against all expectations, were all released except the Purchase vicebrigadiere. … There were already resigned to our fate, when Petty Officer parlamentò with a German officer by the interpreter. What did the official purchasing there is not given to know. The fact is that after a while we were all released: I was the last one to get away from that locality. »

Abbey was believed by a German policeman and therefore initially believed to hold him to make him attend the execution. Evidently, Salvo D'acquisto had autoaccusato of the alleged attack, taking upon himself the sole responsibility of the incident and demanded the immediate release of raked.

The 22 prisoners were released and immediately fled, leaving the Italian NCO already in the ditch before the firing squad. To escape he joined immediately after Abbey, when he was able to prove, by presenting his documents, which actually was a railway worker and not a policeman. As recounted in his witness in 1957, made in time as he ran, to hear the cry "Long live Italy"launched by the policeman, followed soon after by an automatic weapon that led to complete the performance. She turned and saw another shot from a German graduated to reverse already on the ground body. He saw soldiers covering the body with soil, moving it with your feet. The behavior of the military had in fact hit the same SS, that the next day, according to the testimony of the Baglioni, reported: "Your Brigadier died a hero. Impassive in the face of death too.”

Salvo d'acquisto was shot at the age of 23 years either. His remains are preserved in the first chapel on the left, adjacent to the entrance of the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples.