Migrant crime is out of control in Milan, a leading conservative MEP has claimed after an Italian policeman was stabbed by an illegal Moroccan migrant with multiple criminal convictions.
Two separate incidents involving migrants have made headlines in Italy’s financial capital this week, resulting in lawmakers speaking out about the epidemic facing the city.
On Wednesday, 35-year-old Italian police officer, Christian Di Martino, was stabbed at Milan’s Lambrate train station by a man who had been throwing stones at the trains and had assaulted a middle-aged female passenger.
As the officer confronted the man, now known to be a Moroccan national with previous convictions who had been living in Italy illegally, the policeman was stabbed multiple times in the back. He was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment and remains in “serious” condition.
The suspect was arrested and has been charged with attempted murder, Milanese police announced on Thursday.
In a separate incident, an Egyptian national, who had just been released from the police station after being interviewed on suspicion of robbery, began damaging property as he walked down the street, prompting officers to attempt to rearrest him.
The man resisted arrest and began hurling rocks at the officers, resulting in the use of a taser by officers to neutralize him. When this failed, an officer was forced to use his firearm, inflicting a non-life-threatening wound on the 36-year-old man.
Silvia Sardone, an Italian MEP and municipal councilor for Matteo Salvini’s Lega, expressed her solidarity with the police and praised the intervention of the officers to stop the man.
“Just this morning, at the same time that pro-illegal immigrant marches claim how immigration is a plus and that more immigrants are needed, (we have) the latest episode, which is almost a carbon copy of the one last night in Lambrate,” she said.
“The city is completely out of control due to non-EU crime,” she added.
Italian conservative leaders also spoke out about the stabbing of the police officer, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Lega leader Matteo Salvini.
“I am following with apprehension all developments regarding the attack that took place at Lambrate station in Milan, where a policeman was stabbed several times by a non-EU citizen who was throwing stones at trains and people. My deepest sympathy to the injured officer, his family, and colleagues of the State Police,” she wrote on X.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini confirmed the suspect had been a Moroccan national living in Italy without a visa.
“In Milan, an illegal Moroccan, with multiple criminal convictions, throws stones from above hitting a woman, then resists the taser and stabs a policeman,” he wrote. “My deepest sympathy to the deputy police inspector who is fighting for his life, to his family and colleagues.”
Salvini called for the immediate deportation of the suspect.
“A criminal who deserves to be sent back to his country as soon as possible,” he added.
The Italian press, quoting the investigators, explained that the man arrived in Milan in 2002 and had already been involved in various cases, including contempt of court and drug possession. A complaint was lodged against him as recently as May 5.
The incidents are all the more significant given that the current Italian government has made illegal immigration a key election issue in the run-up to next month’s European elections.
