Senegalese demonstrators face police during a demonstration at Vespucci bridge in Florence, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The Senegalese community in Florence is demanding justice after an Italian man shot and killed one of their own, apparently just because he was there. (Claudio Giovannini/ANSA via AP)
March 06, 2018 - 9:59 AM
ROME - The Senegalese community in Florence, Italy is demanding justice after an Italian man shot and killed one of their own, apparently just because he was there.
Police have excluded a racial motive in Monday's slaying of Idy Diene. But the killing has heightened tensions after a bitter election campaign saw an explosion of racial violence and anti-migrant sentiment.
The 65-year-old suspect, Roberto Pirrone, turned himself in to police. Investigators say Pirrone intended to kill himself over financial problems, but lost his courage and instead shot randomly Diene.
About 300 members of Florence's Senegalese community staged a protest late Monday, at times overturning street planters, to denounce the slaying. Another more peaceful protest was held Tuesday. Senegalese residents demanded justice and denounced the discrimination they said they face in Italy.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018