Macerata shooting

The 2018 Macerata shooting was a far-right terrorist shooting in Macerata,on February 3, 2018. It received extensive media coverage and affected Italian politics because it occurred during the political campaign for the 2018 general election.

Macerata shooting
"War Memorial of Macerata" where Traini was arrested
Native name	Attentato di Macerata
Location	Macerata, Marche, Italy
Date	3 February 2018 11:00 (UTC+1)
Attack type	Mass shooting, drive-by shooting
Weapons	9mm Glock 17 Gen 3 semi-automatic pistol
Deaths	0
Injured	6
Perpetrators	Luca Traini
Motive	Racism Xenophobia Far-right extremism Anti-immigration Retaliation for the murder of Pamela Mastropietro

Traini said the attack was revenge for the murder of Pamela Mastropietro, an 18-year-old local girl whose dismembered body had been found a few days earlier, stuffed into two suitcases and dumped in the countryside. For this, Innocent Oseghale, a 29-year-old Nigerian national and failed asylum seeker, had been arrested and charged. ^{[1] [2]}

Attack

At around 11am on Saturday 3 February 2018, in the centre of the city of Macerata , several gunshots were fired from a moving car , a black Alfa Romeo 147 , injuring several people and also hitting shops and buildings. ^[3] The shots were fired with a Glock 17 ^[4] in front of the Macerata railway station,in via dei Velini and in via Spalato,but also in Piediripa di Macerata, Casette Verdini, in via Pancalducci and in Borgo San Giuliano.

One of the points hit was the local headquarters of the Democratic Party. ^[5] Six people were injured in the attack, all immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa aged between 20 and 32. ^[6] The mayor of Macerata,Romano Carancini, issued an alert, inviting citizens to stay at home, warning of the presence of a person who was shooting in the city and informing that he had ordered the interruption of public transport services and asked schools to keep children indoors. ^[7]

The shooting,which was found to have been specifically aimed at immigrants, was traced back to a racist origin ^[8]

Perpetrator

Luca Traini, a 28-year-old man (Born On 21 July 1989 And Was Originally From Tolentino ) with no criminal record, was arrested for the attack. According to the reconstruction, he left Tolentino by car and, after shooting, got out of the car in front of the city's War Memorial, where he gave the Roman salute and shouted "Long live Italy" with a Flag Of Italy tied around his neck, before surrendering to the police. ^[9]

Items linked to the far-right were found in his house,including a copy of Mein Kampf and a flag with a Celtic cross. ^[10]

It was also ascertained that Traini had run for the Lega Nord in the 2017 municipal elections in Corridonia,where he had not received any preference; the program of the mayoral candidate for the Lega Nord also included the "control of non-EU citizens". ^[11]

Initially, a news story was spread which hypothesized that Traini knew Pamela Mastropietro,an 18-year-old girl killed in Macerata a few days before, and that therefore the attack could be a revenge for the murder; this hypothesis was however denied by the young girl's family. ^[12] Traini declared, however, that his initial intention was to go to court and kill Innocent Oseghale,the Nigerian drug dealer arrested on charges of having murdered Pamela Mastropietro (who was later sentenced to life imprisonment), and that he had changed his mind only later, deciding to carry out the shooting on random black people. ^[13]

Aftermath

Traini was a member and former local candidate of Lega Nord (LN), and many political commentators, intellectuals, and politicians criticized the LN's leader Matteo Salvini, accusing him of having spread hate and racism in the country. Anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano labeled Salvini as the moral instigator of the attack. ^[14] Salvini responded to critics by accusing the centre-left coalition government of responsibility for Mastropietro's death for allowing migrants to stay in the country and having "blood on their hands", asserting the blame lies with those who "fill us with illegal immigrants". ^[15] Marco Minniti, then Italian Minister of the Interior, condemned the attack, saying that no political party must "ride the hate". ^[16]

During the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, Traini's name was written on one of the weapon magazines of the perpetrator, Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, alongside other far-right mass murderers and killers in addition to historical figures and battles. Tarrant also named Traini as among the shooters and killers that he supported because they "take a stand against ethnic and cultural genocide". ^[17] Traini dissociated himself from the event, declaring himself to be regretful about what happened in Macerata. ^[18]

The Prosecutor's Office of Macerata formulated against Traini the accusation of massacre aggravated by the purpose of racism, in addition to other crimes, including unlawful carrying of firearms. ^[19] On 3 October 2018, Traini was sentenced to 12 years in prison with a summary judgment. ^[20]

See also

• List of mass shootings in Italy

References

1. "Macerata, spari da auto in corsa, sei feriti: sono tutti di colore. Una vendetta per Pamela: bloccato un uomo avvolto nel tricolore" [Macerata, drive-by shooting, six wounded: all black people. Revenge for Pamela: a man wrapped in the Italian flag arrested]. Il Messaggero (in Italian). 3 February 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
2. "Nigerian charged over dismembered teen (4)". Ansa.it . 1 February 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
3. "Raid razzista a Macerata, spari in vari punti della città: alcuni feriti, tutti stranieri. Fermato italiano incensurato". Repubblica.it. 2018-02-03. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
4. ""Qui Traini ha comprato la Glock per il raid razzista di Macerata"". 6 February 2018.
5. "Macerata, colpita anche sede Pd" . Retrieved 2018-03-01.
6. Sclaunich, Greta. "Sparatoria Macerata, chi sono i migranti feriti da Luca Traini". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
7. AGI - Agenzia Giornalistica Italia. "Sparatoria a Macerata: il sindaco ai cittadini "Restate a casa"". Agi. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
8. "Macerata, Traini in carcere: accusato di strage aggravata da razzismo | Sky TG24" . Retrieved 2018-03-01.
9. Morosi, Fabrizio Caccia e Silvia. "Sparatoria Macerata, immigrati colpiti da un'auto in corsa. Bloccato un uomo, ha gridato "viva l'Italia"". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
10. "Mein Kampf e croce celtica, nella stanza di Luca Traini" . Retrieved 2018-03-01.
11. "Luca Traini era candidato con la Lega" . Retrieved 2018-03-01.
12. "Macerata, i familiari di Pamela: «Non conosceva l'uomo che ha sparato»" . Retrieved 2018-03-01.
13. "Macerata, Traini ai carabinieri: «Volevo andare in Tribunale per uccidere Oseghale»". Il Mattino . 5 February 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
14. "Roberto Saviano: 'Il mandante morale dei fatti di Macerata è Salvini'" [Roberto Saviano: 'The moral mastermind of what happened in Macerata is Salvini']. HuffPost (in Italian). 3 February 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
15. "Raid razzista a Macerata, Salvini: 'Colpa di chi ci riempie di clandestini'. Renzi: 'Ora calma e responsabilità'" [Racist raid in Macerata, Salvini: 'It's the fault of those who fill us with illegal immigrants'. Renzi: 'Now calm and responsibility']. la Repubblica (in Italian). 3 February 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
16. "Macerata: Minniti, nessuno cavalchi odio" [Macerata: Minniti, no one shall ride hate]. Ansa.it (in Italian). 3 February 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
17. "Attacco moschee Christchurch, da Luca Traini a Sebastiano Venier tutti i nomi sulle armi del killer" [Attack on Christchurch mosques, from Luca Traini to Sebastiano Venier all the names on the killer's weapons]. la Repubblica (in Italian). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
18. "'Luca Traini si dissocia dalla strage in Nuova Zelanda, lui pentito per Macerata'" ['Luca Traini dissociates himself from the massacre in New Zealand, he repented for Macerata']. Corriere Adriatico (in Italian). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
19. "Macerata, l'accusa per Traini: strage aggravata da razzismo" [Macerata, the accusation for Traini: massacre aggravated by racism]. Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 4 February 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
20. "Macerata, Luca Traini condannato a 12 anni con il rito abbreviato. Ferì sei stranieri dopo omicidio Pamela" [Macerata, Luca Traini sentenced to 12 years with summary judgement. He wounded six migrants after murder of Pamela]. Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 3 October 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.