A San Francisco Catholic School coach was visiting relatives in Italy when two African migrants on a train stabbed him in the throat. They stole his belongings and his special jewelry, a gold cross.
A 16-year-old boy saw him stumble off the train and called for help. The help took 15 minutes to get to him. He lost a liter-and-a-half of blood from the wound which grazed his jugular.
He’s recuperating in the hospital.
The African invaders had just attacked an elderly man with a glass bottle and robbed a woman of her necklace before turning on him.
The incident comes amid growing tension over the migrant crisis in Italy, where authorities have declared a national emergency.
More than 157,000 migrants and asylum seekers crossed the Mediterranean to Italy in 2023 alone. Many come from Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria – sparking crime fears and political unrest.
For Pellegrino, the traumatic ordeal has become a spiritual reckoning. “I used to doubt,” he admitted. “I don’t doubt anymore. This has grounded me in my faith. I know Jesus saved me, and I will always be a believer.”
He’s booked to fly home on July 24. He said his mother back in Staten Island has been a “basket case.”
Isn’t diversity grand?
Blacks giving blacks a very bad name.