Italian sentenced to 12 years for shooting of African migrants

Luca Traini injured six Africans following the murder of an Italian woman by suspected Nigerian drug dealers.

Luca Traini
Luca Traini says his attack on African migrants was not racially-motivated [AFP]

A far-right sympathiser who injured six Africans during a violent revenge attack in the central Italian town of Macerata has been sentenced to 12 years in jail, media reports said.

Luca Traini, 28, embarked on a shooting spree on February 4, following the murder of a young Italian woman by suspected Nigerian drug dealers.

Pamela Mastropietro’s body was found dismembered and stuffed into suitcases days before Traini’s attack.

The two incidents, which occurred during Italy’s tense electoral campaign, shook the country and laid bare its deep tensions surrounding immigration.

Pro-migrant demonstrations across Italy condemning the attack were in contrast to an outpouring of support for Traini who received messages of solidarity for his actions. Controversially, no politicians visited his victims in hospital.

Traini was charged with attempted murder and racial hatred.

The former security guard admitted to the shooting but rejected allegations the attack was racially-motivated, insisting he wanted to target drug dealers.

His defence team had provided a psychiatric report which stated that Traini suffered from a personality disorder and that he was not completely aware of his actions at the time of the attack.

Source: AFP