2011 Florence shootings
Memorial
LocationFlorence, Tuscany, Italy
Date13 December 2011
12:34 p.m. (Central European Time)
TargetSenegalese market traders
Attack type
Spree shooting
Mass shooting
Hate crime
WeaponsSmith & Wesson .357 Magnum
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)
Injured3
PerpetratorGianluca Casseri
MotiveRace hate crime

On 13 December 2011, an armed attack occurred in Florence.[1][2] Two market traders from Senegal, 40-year-old Samb Modou, and 54-year-old Diop Mor,[3] were killed by Gianluca Casseri, who wounded three other Senegalese traders in another market.[1][2] According to Florentine prosecutor Giuseppe Quattrocchi, the killer shot himself dead as he was approached by police in a car park.[1] The attack was racially motivated according to authorities.[1][2]

The attack occurred on the same day and at the same hour as the 2011 Liège attack. There is no evidence the two shootings were coordinated.

Timeline

The first shootings were at the Piazza Dalmazia market on Tuesday morning, where two market traders were shot dead and one injured.[2] The killer then fled in a car and wounded two more vendors at the San Lorenzo later that day.[2] He shot himself when confronted by armed police.[2]

Response to shootings

After the shootings some people protested, marching to the Prefects' office, demanding justice and a representative met the prefect.[2][4][5] Some Senegalese met in the Duomo square to pray.[5]

CasaPound, an Italian far-right and neo-fascist[6] group, described him as a sympathiser but not a member.[2][5]

The attacker

The attacker was 50-year-old Gianluca Casseri, an accountant from Pistoia who had a history of involvement in far-right politics.[5] In 2010 he published an historical novel La Chiave del Caos, co-authored with Enrico Rulli.[7] He also published a newsletter for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Gunman Kills Two in Market in Florence". The Wall Street Journal. 13 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kington, Tom (13 December 2011). "Florence gunman shoots Senegalese street vendors dead". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Thousands march in Florence after racist shootings
  4. ^ Squires, Nick. "Florence street vendors shot dead by lone gunman". The Daily Telegraph.
  5. ^ a b c d e Segreti, Giulia. "Rightwinger kills Florence street traders". Financial Times.
  6. ^ Gattinara, Pietro Castelli; Froio, Caterina; Albanese, Matteo (2013). "The appeal of neo-fascism in times of crisis. The experience of CasaPound Italia". Fascism. Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies. 2 (2): 234–258. doi:10.1163/22116257-00202007.
  7. ^ "Italian kills two, wounds three, before shooting himself", ANSA, 13 December 2011.
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