Algerian migrant slashes woman's face on Milan metro, shouted 'I am a man and Muslim'

The attack

A 27-year-old Algerian man, present in Italy without a regular permit, attacked a young woman on the platform of the M3 metro at Duomo station in central Milan on the afternoon of 9 July 2026. According to witnesses and investigators, he confronted her after exchanging glances and shouted, 'What are you looking at? I am a man and a Muslim,' before slashing her face with a small knife. The victim, a Moroccan woman described as either 22 or 23 years old and legally residing in Italy, suffered cuts to her cheek and lip. Emergency services transported her to Policlinico Hospital under a yellow code, indicating non‑life‑threatening injuries.

The attacker fled but was intercepted shortly afterward by municipal police in Via Torino and arrested in flagrante.

Legal proceedings

The prosecutor on duty, Simona Ferraiuolo, ordered the arrest. The primary charge is 'deformazione dell’aspetto della persona mediante lesioni permanenti al viso' (permanent disfigurement of the person through permanent facial injuries), introduced by article 583‑quinquies of the penal code. The crime carries a sentence of 8 to 14 years’ imprisonment. A key element is whether the wound leaves a lasting scar that alters the facial symmetry and harmony.

It is not simply an ordinary personal injury: the law punishes whoever causes a permanent deformity or disfigurement to the face.

Prosecutors may also apply recently added aggravating factors for acts committed out of hatred or discrimination based on gender, race or religion, given the words the attacker allegedly shouted. The validation of the arrest and a precautionary measure will be requested in the coming hours.

Attacker’s background

The 27-year-old had been arrested the previous night (8 July) on charges of theft and damage to parked cars but was released after the arrest was validated. His irregular status and rapid release after a previous offence have drawn criticism.

1. 2026-07-08 nightAlgerian suspect arrested for theft and car damage
2. 2026-07-09 morningSuspect released after arrest validation
3. 2026-07-09 afternoonAttack at Duomo station; suspect slashes woman after yelling
4. 2026-07-09 afternoon (shortly after)Local police arrest suspect in flagrante in Via Torino

Political reactions

The episode has drawn sharp reactions from the centre‑right government. Galeazzo Bignami, Fratelli d’Italia group leader in the Chamber of Deputies, demanded 'immediate expulsion' and said the message must be clear: 'In Italy there is no room for anyone who uses violence or invokes their religious or cultural identity to intimidate, overpower or deny the dignity and freedom of women.'

Those who come to our country must respect its laws and values, otherwise they must serve their sentence in their home country.

Giovanni Donzelli, head of organisation for Fratelli d’Italia, added: 'If you come to Italy you respect women.' He argued that feminists on the left should applaud rather than calling the right racist.

You cannot think that, because you are Islamic, women are not respected. And all the left‑wing feminists should applaud and not call us racist, because otherwise they are hypocrites.

Silvia Sardone, deputy secretary of the League and Milan city councillor, linked the attack to a perceived rise in crime by irregular foreign nationals. Laura Ravetto, a deputy who recently moved to Futuro Nazionale, called it 'the latest shocking episode that shows how certain realities, which it would be too kind to call subcultures, consider it normal to insult, beat, attack and even kill women.'