Italian PM calls for unity after 'racial hatred' shooting

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Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni made a call for unity after brazen drive-by shootings by a suspected far-right supporter that wounded six Africans in the central Italian town of Macerata on Saturday.

Media reports said that after the shooting, the suspect got out of his car and allegedly made a fascist salute with a tricolour Italian flag draped over his shoulders and shouted "Viva Italia," or "Long Live Italy," and "Italy for Italians."

Interior Minister Marco Minniti said the attack was part of a culture "of right-wing extremism with clear reference to fascism and Nazism" and deplored that the sole link between the victims was "the color of their skin."

He said the "criminal act" was "prepared in advance."

Paramedics attend to a wounded man after a shooting broke out in Macerata, Italy, Feb. 3, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The man allegedly opened fire in eight areas in the town and also targeted the office of the center-left Democratic Party in a two-hour terror spree in the sleepy town of 43,000 people.

Gentiloni said Italy would come down heavily on anyone promoting violence.

"We will stop this risk. We will stop it immediately. We will stop it together,” he said. “Hatred and violence will not be able to divide us."

Authorities identified the suspected shooter as Luca Traini, 28.

He is a member of the far-right anti-immigration Northern League party and had run in local elections last year.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni talks about the shooting in Macerata, as he holds a press conference at Palazzo Chigi in Rome, Feb. 3, 2018. /AP Photo‍

Northern league chief Matteo Salvini said the shooter is a "delinquent, irrespective of the color of his skin," in full campaign mode ahead of legislative elections on March 4. "I'm in a hurry to be in government to bring back security, social justice and serenity to Italy," he added.

Italy is a favored landing point on Europe's southern coastline for migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, often aboard unseaworthy boats, to enter the continent.

But 2017 was a turning point for Italy: the country went from large-scale arrivals in the first six months to a sharp drop-off, thanks to a controversial agreement between the EU and Libya.

Some 119,000 people landed in Italy last year, down 35 percent from 2016.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters