A racially motivated shooting in Florence left two Senegalese market traders dead and marked one of Italy's most prominent hate-crime attacks of the era.
Key Facts
- Date
- 13 December 2011
- Killed
- 2 (Samb Modou, 40; Diop Mor, 54)
- Wounded
- 3 Senegalese traders
- Perpetrator
- Gianluca Casseri
- Motive
- Racially motivated, per authorities
- Perpetrator's fate
- Shot himself dead when approached by police
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Gianluca Casseri carried out the attack driven by racial hatred toward Senegalese immigrants. Authorities confirmed the killings were racially motivated, targeting West African street traders working at markets in Florence.
On 13 December 2011, Casseri opened fire at two separate Florence markets, killing Samb Modou and Diop Mor and wounding three other Senegalese traders. He subsequently shot himself dead in a car park as police closed in, as confirmed by prosecutor Giuseppe Quattrocchi.
The attack provoked widespread condemnation in Italy and renewed debate about racism and the safety of immigrant communities. It occurred on the same day as the 2011 Liège attack in Belgium, though investigators found no evidence of coordination between the two shootings.