19-year-old Egyptian man stabbed to death in Crema supermarket parking lot, mayor demands more police

The attack

At around 23:00 on Saturday 11 July, a 19-year-old Egyptian man was attacked in the parking lot of a supermarket on Viale Repubblica in Crema, a town in the province of Cremona. He was struck multiple times in the chest with a bladed weapon. Despite his injuries, the victim tried to flee, managing to walk a few dozen meters before collapsing. Emergency services (118) arrived at the scene and transported him urgently to the Maggiore hospital in Crema.

Victim and aftermath

The young man, a resident of Crema, was declared dead shortly before 00:30 on 12 July. Doctors at the emergency room were unable to save him. The Carabinieri have opened a murder investigation, collecting initial witness statements and reviewing footage from surveillance cameras in the area to reconstruct the exact sequence of events and identify the attacker or attackers.

Investigation and gang links

The motive and the identity of the aggressor remain unknown. However, the most widely held hypothesis points to a “settling of scores” between gangs. According to one report, the victim was part of a group of four people who, about two weeks earlier, had occupied the entrance of a public housing building to confront members of a family living there over drug trafficking territory. One member of that group was later reported for weapons possession and arrested for drug dealing. Investigators are exploring whether the stabbing is connected to that earlier confrontation.

Mayor's response

After the killing, the mayor of Crema, Fabio Bergamaschi, published a long post on social media, urging the state to act decisively on security.

Don't pretend that security isn't a real concern for citizens. Indeed, that it isn't a real problem. It is, and must be addressed with great determination by the State.