Gianluca Casseri

Case record: Gianluca Casseri (Florence shootings)

Gianluca Casseri committed suicide by shooting himself the same day after an armed attack in Florence on 13 December 2011.

People

• Gianluca Casseri (attacker), a 50-year-old accountant from Pistoia in Tuscany, who had links to far-right politics and to an Italian far-right, anti-immigration organisation called CasaPound.
• Samb Modou (victim), a 40-year-old market trader from Senegal, who was killed.
• Diop Mor (victim), a 54-year-old market trader from Senegal, who was killed.
• Three other Senegalese traders (wounded victims), who were wounded in the attacks.

Timeline

• 13 December 2011 — Casseri opened fire at the Piazza Dalmazia market, killing two market traders and wounding one; he then fled in a car, later reappeared at the San Lorenzo market and opened fire again, wounding two more Senegalese traders; Casseri was approached by armed police in a car park and shot himself.

The offence

Casseri carried out a shooting rampage in Florence. The attacks targeted Senegalese market traders.

At the Piazza Dalmazia market (northern outskirts of the city) on Tuesday morning, Casseri shot and killed two market traders from Senegal. He also wounded one other Senegalese trader.

After fleeing in a car, Casseri later appeared at San Lorenzo market in central Florence and opened fire again. He wounded two more Senegalese vendors. Casseri then drove into an underground car park, where he shot himself when armed police closed in.

Casseri used a .357 Magnum hand gun in the attacks.

Witness accounts included that the owner of a newspaper stall tried to block Casseri, and Casseri told him that unless he got out of the way he would be the next victim.

Investigation / police response

Florentine prosecutor Giuseppe Quattrocchi said that Casseri shot himself dead as he was approached by police in a car park.

Police found Casseri back in his car in the car park of the market, and they fired warning shots before he reportedly shot himself dead. Casseri was found having turned the gun on himself, shooting himself in the mouth while he sat in his Volkswagen Polo.

The attack was described by authorities as racially motivated.

Arrest / apprehension

Casseri was not arrested. He died by suicide after being confronted by armed police in a car park.

Aftermath

Protests and community response

After the shootings, some people protested by marching to the Prefects’ office, demanding justice, and a representative met the prefect.

Some Senegalese met in the Duomo square to pray.

After the killings, around 200 Senegalese traders staged a demonstration, shouting “Racists!” and “Shame, shame”.

Around 300 Africans marched in protest at the killings, demanding to see Casseri’s corpse, knocking over mopeds, bins and street signs.

Statements and denouncements

• Florentine prosecutor Giuseppe Quattrocchi said:

  the killer shot himself dead as he was approached by police in a car park.

• The mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi expressed solidarity with the immigrant community and said the city had been “shaken by the lone act of a crazed and pitiless killer”.
• Matteo Renzi also described the shootings as actions of a lone killer, saying:

  These are the actions of a lone killer - a lucid, mad and racist killer

• Italy’s president Giorgio Napolitano denounced “this blind explosion of hatred” and called on Italian authorities and society to “combat in the bud every form of intolerance and to reaffirm the tradition of openness and solidarity in our country”.

Hospital treatment

The three wounded men were being treated for chest and abdominal wounds in Florence’s Santa Maria Nuova hospital.

Attacker background

Casseri was described as a withdrawn, solitary figure who worked as an editor on a magazine specialising in fantasy and horror stories. He was also described as a solitary type who had recently moved to Florence from a small Tuscan town and as a fan of fantasy comics and fiction including Tolkien.

In 2010, he published an historical novel “La Chiave del Caos”, which he co-authored with Enrico Rulli.

He also published a newsletter for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Far-right links and CasaPound

Casseri had links to a far-right, anti-immigration movement called Casa Pound (Casapound). CasaPound was described as an Italian far-right group. It was founded in Rome in 2003 and drew inspiration from the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.

CasaPound described Casseri as a “sympathiser” but not a member. Around the time of the attacks, Fabio Barsanti, a regional co-ordinator for the group, described Casseri as “lonely” and “living in his own world” but “not crazy”.

A report described the group as seeking to distance itself from Casseri and saying it did not support any type of violence.

Quotations from people at the scene and in protest

• A vendor at the scene of the first shooting said:

  “I heard the shots but I thought they were fireworks. Then I turned around and I saw three men on the ground surrounded by blood,”

• A market trader who saw the attack told La Repubblica:

  “I heard what I thought were fireworks but when I turned around I saw three men bleeding on the floor,”

• A vendor at Piazza Dalmazia said:

  “Senegalese lads often sell here, they don't make any trouble and no one expected this.”

• A protestor said:

  "Don't tell us he was a madman," said one, "because if he was he would have killed whites as well as blacks".

• Another vendor said at the scene:

Other details

Parallel events

The attack was also reported to have occurred during the 2011 Liège attack, which started on the same day.

Vehicles

Casseri was described as sitting in his Volkswagen Polo when he shot himself.