- Title: ITALY: Crowds gather for funeral of schoolgirl killed in bombing
- Date: 22nd May 2012
- Summary: MESAGNE, APULIA REGION, ITALY (MAY 21, 2012) (REUTERS) POLICE AND CROWDS OUTSIDE CHURCH AHEAD OF FUNERAL PEOPLE STANDING BEHIND BARRIERS BANNER READING: "MELISSA, NOW THE ANGELS ALSO WILL KNOW YOUR SMILE" (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) RESIDENT, ANTONIO MAUGERI, SAYING: "When you take a child to school, you pay attention to all the dangers on the way but after you've dropped th
- Embargoed: 6th June 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA67WYMPGH42JRF49BZKVZDELEY
- Story Text: Sixteen-year-old Melissa Bassi was given a state funeral in the small town of Mesagne, near the southern Italian town of Brindisi, on Monday (May21).
Melissa was killed in a bomb attack on a school on Saturday that shook Italy to the core and crowds began to gather early ahead of the funeral.
Bassi was a student at the Francesca Morvillo Falcone school, a vocational training institute named after the wife of a famed anti-mafia judge.
"When you take a child to school, you pay attention to all the dangers on the way, but after you've dropped them off you are sure of their safety. Now, unfortunately, this safety is no longer there," said town resident Antonio Maugeri, who was present for the funeral.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has cut short a visit to the United States to return home to cope with the aftermath of both the attack and an earthquake in northern Italy in which at least six people died.
Monti is expected to attend the funeral in Mesagne.
The bomb attack that wounded 10 other people was probably carried out by an individual operating alone, a senior official said on Sunday (May 20), playing down initial suspicions of mafia involvement. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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