Italy gun attack: Drive-by shooting ‘targeting black people’ in city of Macerata
The shootings began at 11am on Saturday when a man fired from a car window at two young African migrants. A short while later another migrant and an african woman were shot. The Mayor of Macerata has warned people to stay indoors while authorities attend to the scene. A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Stay at home until further notice. There is an armed man in a car who is shooting in the city.”
The police have not yet said how many people are injured in the town, which has a population of 43,000. However, reports suggest that at least seven people may have been shot and wounded. At least two men were in the car that carried out the drive-by shooting according to Italian news reports. Italian media named one man that was arrested as Luca Traini, a 28-year-old from Macerata. An image showed him draped in an Italian flag.
EPA Luca Traini, 28, was arrested in Macerata and is allegedly responsible for the shooting
And video of his arrest on Twitter appears to show the gunman draped in the Tricolour before being led away by police into a van in the town's Victory Square. The video's caption reads: "The moment of the catch". The skinhead has reportedly confessed to the shooting this morning. Earlier this morning, the gunman along with a passenger were driving in a black Alfa Romeo 147 in the town of Macerata, which is located about 200 km (125 miles) east of Rome. They opened fire at various places, and shot people near the train station as they were chased by police. Police blocked the suspects car but they fled on foot leaving a gun behind. They were later caught by officers who chased them down.
EPA The gunman was wearing a tricolour flag of Italy when he was bundled into a police van
The alleged gunman made a fascist salute before he was bundled to the ground by armed police. Sources in Macerata describe the salute that he did as a ‘Roman salute’ but it is essentially the same as a Nazi salute and frequently used by thuggish right-wing football supporters in Italy. The man arrested had removed some clothing before waiting for police to take him down. The seven people that have been wounded are all believed to be foreigners and described in some Italian media as ‘migrants’. Video footage from the scene shows one of the victims raising his hand as he is put into an ambulance.
EPA ANSA news agency reported four victims have been wounded while Sky TG24 said two had been shot
Il momento del fermo.. pic.twitter.com/DKeKaVS0U9 — Andrea Palma (@palmaget) February 3, 2018
Mayor Romano Carancini appealed for calm and said: "All of you stay in the house until further notice, there is a man armed in a car shooting in the city, we stopped the public transport, we asked the schools to keep the children inside until further notice.” A police tweet added: "Police operation in progress: stay away from the open, avoiding places outdoors. "Gunshots have been fired and there are wounded. The wounded are of foreign nationality". Schools have been placed on lockdown and people are staying inside while the incident unfolds.
#Macerata
Al momento 5 feriti. Tutti extracomunitari di colore. Dall’auto in corsa sono stati sparati diversi colpi che hanno raggiunto le cinque persone. . A bordo dell’auto ci sono due persone, sparano con una pistola calibro 9. diversi posti di blocco#QuartoGrado @remo_croci pic.twitter.com/uSKEdBrzmQ — Quarto Grado (@QuartoGrado) February 3, 2018
The shootings took place just days after the body of an 18-year-old white Italian woman was discovered cut up and hidden in two suitcases in Marcerata. A Nigerian migrant was arrested in connection with her death. Italy is set to stage parliamentary elections on March 4. The candidates include those who hold deeply fascist views. All are keen to harness a growing backlash against more than 600,000 migrants who have landed on Italian shores in the past four years.
Getty Paramedics appear to attend to a man lying on the ground after the shooting spree in Italy