Tragedy in Assago, the chilling tale of Massimo Tarantino
Tragedy in Assago, the dramatic account of Massimo Tarantino
On Thursday night Massimo Tarantino was among the first people to intervene in the Assago attack: “I was not prepared psychologically to face a tragic event like what happened before my eyes on Thursday in Assago. You have to believe me if I tell you that I am struggling to talk about it, and not only because of what I saw. I would like to avoid coming across as someone who steals the scene from the protagonists. I am fine, but there are people in the hospital and even one who did not make it,” he told Corriere della Sera.
“I was with my wife Tatiana and my 22-year-old daughter Giorgia at the supermarket doing grocery shopping. We were standing in the checkout line with the cart when we heard screams. At first silence fell as we all began to wonder what was going on. Then a person with a bloodstained shirt emerged. At that point panic ensued, there were people running left and right. In the stampede a man with a knife in his hand ran in my direction until a Carrefour employee stood between him and me. And he got the knife. It was a matter of moments, there was no time to rationalize. I simply kicked the attacker’s arm, making the knife fly away from him. At that point I pinned him down until law enforcement arrived and took him into custody. It was an irrational move; it’s not like I’m trained. I did not run away because my primary instinct was to protect my wife and daughter. I just tried to disarm him.”
“The attacker was shouting, but everyone was shouting at the time, you couldn’t understand anything. There was general chaos. Then when he was disarmed he remained motionless, you could see he was not lucid. The officers came over after a short time, although at this moment I don’t have a good sense of time. We talk about the ordinary life of people, standing in line with the cart at the checkout. But again, I am upset mostly for those who did not make it, for their family and for those who suffered the injuries. I don’t feel like a hero, in fact to be honest I feel discomfort at finding myself the center of attention. I just feel that I did the right thing after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am 51 years old and have been shopping in hypermarkets all my life. One incident, while devastating, cannot affect my and my family’s life. It cannot steal our daily lives,” Tarantino concluded.
Among the injured is Pablo Marì, a Monza defender who underwent surgery for his injuries on Friday morning: “After the difficult moment we experienced yesterday, my family and I want to communicate that, fortunately, we are fine and we want to thank for the many messages of affection and support we are receiving. We are close to the family and friends of the victim to whom we extend our deepest condolences. We also wish a speedy recovery to the other injured people,” the footballer wrote on Instagram.
