DiCaprio Paparazzi Altercation

Feb. 2, 2001 -- Those paparazzi stalking Leonardo DiCaprio may want to keep a safe distance from the star, given what went down Thursday in Rome.

According to both the New York Post and the New York Daily News, an outraged DiCaprio grabbed the handiest thing to throw at some pesky photographers — which just happened to be horse manure.

Reportedly, DiCaprio, who's on location in Italy's Villa Borghese shooting the period picture Gangs of New York, blew his lid after paparazzi swarmed over three injured extras.

Scorsese Pic Suspended Temporarily

It's not clear whether the photographers were to blame for the accident, which occurred when horses hitched to a carriage carrying two women and a girl got spooked and tipped the carriage over.

When the shutterbugs swarmed in, Leo reportedly scooped up some manure in a cup and hurled it at the photogs — and word has it that his aim was true.

"[The photographers] were so busy taking photos that they were impeding the ambulances," a "close friend" of Leo's tells the Post.

Co-star Cameron Diaz resorted to just yelling at the paparazzi, the tabs' sources say.

One of the extras was hospitalized overnight while the other two were treated and released. DiCaprio's rep, Ken Sunshine, did not comment on the excrement hitting Leo's fans, but he did say that his client and Diaz visited the hospitalized extra.

Shooting on the Martin Scorsese film was suspended for the rest of the day, "out of respect" for the extras, according to the New York papers.