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Milan, 23-year-old woman slashed at Duomo metro station: I thought I would die

Vibrant red and green Moscova metro station in Milan, showcasing Italian design. — Symbolic image · Bruna Santos / Pexels

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A 23-year-old woman of Moroccan origin was attacked and slashed in the face on the platform of the Duomo metro station in Milan. The attack occurred on a Thursday. According to the victim's account, reported by ANSA, the young woman stated she thought she would die and that she could no longer see or breathe due to the blood.

The attacker was identified as Mohammed Saidi, a 27-year-old Algerian national who had arrived in Italy from France about a month earlier and had worked as a plumber. Saidi was arrested by local police and, on July 10, the judge for preliminary investigations Cristian Mariani validated the arrest and ordered pre-trial detention in jail. The charges include permanent facial scarring with the aggravating circumstance of trivial motives, as well as aggravated resistance to a public official. The judge highlighted the man's high social dangerousness, noting that the attack was carried out only a few hours after a previous arrest and release with a ban on residing in the Lombardy capital. The man was in Italy without a residence permit.

During the validation hearing at San Vittore prison, Saidi reportedly maintained a hostile and aggressive attitude. He claimed to be the victim, asserting that the young woman had looked at him provocatively and insulted him. He denied ever wielding a knife, claiming the girl injured herself with the metal buckle of her bag during a scuffle. He also stated that the blood found at the scene was his own, showing a wound on a finger. The judge deemed this version entirely incompatible with the evidence gathered by investigators.

According to some press reports, the attacker allegedly addressed the victim with a phrase referencing his Muslim religion. However, the accused denied making any religious references, and this circumstance does not appear in the investigation files, making the attribution uncertain.

The case also sparked political debate. Center-right politicians criticized the management of the suspect's prior arrest and release, calling for tighter territorial controls and repatriation policies. No official comment was issued from the mayor's office.

Meanwhile, the Antiterrorism unit of the ROS in Milan is conducting checks through Interpol to rule out any possible involvement of the man in radicalized circles.

The motive for the attack, according to investigators, appears to be tied to a glance that the man interpreted as offensive.

Depoliticization note

The original articles from right-leaning outlets contained extensive political commentary, framing the event as an indictment of the left-wing administration and immigration policies. These editorial elements were removed from the neutral version, which limits itself to reporting the facts of the attack, the judicial proceedings, and the political reactions as attributed statements rather than endorsed judgments. The religious reference attributed to the attacker was reported as uncertain, since it does not appear in the investigation files and was denied by the accused. The term used to describe the attacker's nationality was neutralized to avoid stigmatizing language. The political declarations of center-right representatives were condensed into a brief attributed summary, preserving the information without reproducing the polemical tone.