Arsenal’s Pablo Mari has been stabbed in a frenzied attack on six people in a supermarket with one victim dying from their injuries.
Among the injured was Pablo Mari, a football player on loan from Arsenal. A 46-year-old suspect has been detained. Police have ruled out any terrorist motive.
The attacker has had mental health problems, the reports say. They say he started stabbing people at random at about 18:30 local time (16:30 GMT) at a Carrefour in a local shopping centre.
Screams were reportedly heard inside the centre, as terrified visitors tried to flee in panic. The attacker is reported to have been detained by several customers and handed over to police who arrived at the scene.
The shocking incident occurred in a Carrefour near Milan, Italy this Thursday. All of the victims were airlifted to hospital, where a man in his 30s sadly passed away.
Three other people are in serious condition. Mari was punched in the face before being stabbed in the back, suffering a deep cut. He will need surgery for the wound and has already received stitches for his lip, but is otherwise OK.
“We were at the bar and we thought it was a robbery because we saw some boys and a lady running, then we saw more and more people with upset faces and we realised that something serious had happened.”
Mari’s father spoke to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope after talking with his son. He said: “These have been very worrying hours for us. They started calling me at 8pm and my heart has skipped a beat.
“Veronica (the footballer’s partner) has not told us how it happened, but she has told us that she has seen a person die in front of her.
She has reassured us confirming that they are fine and that everything has been a fright for them.”
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While the executive said the defender had suffered a “fairly deep wound on his back”, the knife did not hit any vital organs and he “should recover quickly”.
Mari joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2020. He has only played 19 times for the Gunners and is currently on loan with top flight Italian club Monza.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “I just found out. I know Edu [Arsenal technical director] has been in touch with his relatives. He’s in hospital but he seems to be okay.”