Attack on bus in Venice foiled, Trani’s driver-hero speaks: “So I saved everyone”
history
NoonJanuary 19, 2023 – 1:23 pm
Giuseppe Mazzone has thwarted an attack by an Asian armed with a knife. Mayor Bottaro would like to meet him for a “concrete gesture of thanks”
Of Joseph DiBisceglie
When he realized that something very serious was happening on the bus he was driving, he didn’t hesitate for a moment and, with a coded phrase, he alerted the police, avoiding what could have been a massacre. Giuseppe Mazzone, 35 years old from Trani, a public transport driver in Venice, put into practice what he had learned during the preparation course before starting work: “Aunt I’m here, the bus has problems,” he said. A man had got on the bus who, knife in hand, was threatening the passengers by loudly chanting a kind of mantra. An absolutely critical situation that Giuseppe managed without hesitation allowing the police to reach the bus, block the man and save the passengers.
The dynamics
On the evening of Tuesday 17 January Giuseppe he was stationary on the 31h timetable which would shortly depart from the Mestre station towards the hospital. The bus was loaded with passengers: when he heard the commotion he opened the doors and invited the passengers to get off. However, not everyone followed his advice. The bus left slowly but he took the headset and communicated the emergency. Then he stopped the vehicle, feigning a technical failure, and let everyone get out. The police car immediately appeared and managed to block the man still with the knife in his hand. “When I realized the danger – he tells Ansa – I only thought of two things: the safety of my passengers and ensuring them the protection of the forces of order”. “The previous experience as a driver and the training I received at Actv were fundamental,” he added.
The mayors of Venice and Trani: «Thank you for your courage»
Words of thanks to the address of the hero driver came from mayor of Venice, Giuseppe Brugnaro. “On behalf of the city and myself – he said -, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the ACTV driver for having faced a dangerous condition with great courage and lucidity”. And also Trani, the city of origin of Giuseppe Mazzone, expresses its gratitude through the words of Mayor Amedeo Bottaro. «We can only be proud of what our fellow citizen has done in the workplace – said Bottaro -, denoting the great professionalism, courage and sensitivity he had in avoiding a situation that could lead to tragedy. Our thanks go to him with the hope of meeting him soon, because I think it is right that our administration too can, with a concrete recognition, thank this fellow Tranese citizen of ours ».
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January 19, 2023 | 1:23 pm
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