Italian gunman kills two immigrants before killing himself

Italian gunman kills two immigrants before killing himself

2011-12-14 16:37:42 GMT+7 (ICT)

FLORENCE, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- An Italian man killed two Senegalese street vendors on Tuesday and wounded three other Senegalese immigrants before killing himself in the Italian city of Florence, police said.

The gunmen, identified as 50-year-old Gianluca Casseri, shot two Senegalese street vendors and seriously wounded another in Dalmatia square before escaping. He then drove to the San Lorenzo area, site of the popular market in the historic center, and wounded two others there before killing himself as police approached him.

Shortly after the incident, the local Senegalese community formed an impromptu procession and marched to the office of the city prefect, Paolo Padoin. "Do not tell us that he was crazy because if he was, he would have killed both blacks and whites," said a Senegalese who gathered in San Lorenzo after the shooting, the ANSA news agency reported.

Padoin was joined by Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi and Tuscany Governor Enrico Rossi. The honorary consul for Senegal, Erando Stefani, said: "There is great loss and great pain but we will proceed with discretion".

Casseri was described as a right-wing writer from Pistoia, a small town 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Florence. Casseri's book was published last year and he was well-known in Tuscany as he had appeared at a number of book presentations.

The deadly shooting in Florence came just hours after a gunman went on a shooting spree at a market in the Belgian city of Liege, killing several before committing suicide. He also threw several grenades during the attack.

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