Shooting at Deaf International Summer Festival in Italy; three injured
Renca Dunn, Daily Moth Reporter: This is a Deaf news brief about the shooting that happened at the Deaf International Summer Festival in Italy. The summer festival had many well-known artists, performers, and even had Deaf celebrities come such as Lauren Ridloff, the Marvel Deaf actress, Douglas Ridloff of ASL Slam, and the twins from Sweden who is known for their visual vernacular work- Jamila and Amina Ouahid. This is their flyer.
[Full-screen image of the Deaf International Summer Festival]
Now I’m going to recap what happened last Saturday night on July 13th, around midnight. This summary is based on three news articles published in Italy. The articles mentioned that the Deaf festival was hosted at a hotel’s conference center. The shooting happened outside of the conference center, not inside, and it happened in front of the hotel.
An Italian Deaf motorcycle group called Deaf Bones Motorcycle was outside, they were also part of the festival. Two people approached them and both of them are Deaf brothers from Naples. The articles also said there was a third accomplice who was sitting in the van, ready to go. The three of them are Deaf. The articles also mentioned that they were registered as participants for the Deaf festival with their families. So, the two brothers approached the bikers group. The articles said that it seems there was some kind of argument between the Deaf biker group and the two brothers. In a swift second, the two brothers pulled out guns and began shooting at the deaf biker group. After that, the shooters got in the van and left. Three people from the bikers group were injured. The first is a 58-year-old man and the second is a 53-year-old man. The third, a 54-year-old man, was severely hurt and is in critical condition. He was shot five times – three on the chest, one on the collarbone and once in the abdomen area. Based on some comments on social media postings, it seems that the third one is in a coma. All three of them are still alive.
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As of now, police are still searching for the shooters- it is a manhunt. People who went to the festival did make various social media postings about their scary experiences. Because of the shooting, a lot of people got scared and people ran out to evacuate. It was chaotic. We will show you a few screenshots from Lauren Ridloff, Douglas Ridloff, and a few others.
[Screenshot by Instagram/laurenridloff: “This photo was taken minutes before I experienced something no one should ever have to go through: a shooting that left three hospitalized and many traumatized. The panic and chaos that descended in the packed theater-indescribable. Gun violence is a tragic and preventable issue that affects everyone everywhere, even at a joyful festival for all ages within the Deaf community in a sleepy Italian beach town. I am eternally grateful to my security who escorted me and my husband to safety. No one is truly immune. Be safe. Promote peace and understanding, people. You are precious.”
[Screenshot by Instagram/douglasridloff: “I performed a poetry piece on stage and then joined my wife in the audience to watch the other performers. Two performances later, a photo was taken of us. Moments later shooting began in the hallway just outside the auditorium. Thankfully, my wife’s security detail acted swiftly and whisked us away. We were fortunate to be seated near an exit close to the stage. It became truly terrifying as we waited in a dark, closed-off part of the hotel while the security team went ahead to ensure the coast was clear. People in panic began pushing forward in fear. I tried to help calm everyone down and stop the pushing. Lauren’s security returned and escorted us safely to our hotel room. We learned later that three people were hospitalized, one of three is in critical condition and many others left traumatized. There is currently a manhunt underway between Naples and Salerno for the two gunmen. I am profoundly grateful that we are safe and unharmed, but my heart hurts for those affected. It’s heartbreaking how two shooters managed to shatter a festival meant to bring joy and unity to the international deaf community. It’s devastating to see a great event eclipsed by violence. Guns should never have existed.”
[Screenshot of vlogs by Instagram/ayiujohnwuol and Instagram/deaftvshowaksuali]
Also, we will show you a snippet of one person’s video Aksu Ali, who is well-known for his vlogs on Instagram. He explained his experience in depth. With his permission, we will show a clip.
(Begin video)
Aksu Ali: I’ve been here for 5 days and it’s been a beautiful experience. During the closing ceremony in the theater, I enjoyed watching performances. I got up to go to the bathroom. I went to get a drink. I saw a group of bikers nearby walking out so you know with Deaf culture we are naturally curious so I followed them to see where they were going. They went out. All of the sudden I felt the boom from gunshots. I turned back and ran to the theater because my wife was there. The gunshots continued as I turned back. Some people started running and scrambling because they saw what happened too. People ran through the theater and more people began scrambling. Then someone got up on stage and told everyone that a shooting was happening. Deaf people got up and began running out. I couldn’t find my wife. My wife was wearing a white outfit and I couldn’t find her. Apparently my wife got up on the theater stage and left. I was trying to figure out which side I should go and went left. There were so many of us, all of us huddled together and running out through a dark hallway. I had to use my phone light. Many people fell down, old people and children, etc. I had to help some people and reminded them to remain calm. So many people were terrified and thought it was a terrorist attack. I told people no it was not and to remain calm. We continued to move through the dark hallway. We finally got out.
(End video)
Renca: You can watch Aksu’s full video on his Instagram. The link is provided in the transcript. The host of the festival, Carmen, did post on Instagram that it was a shock, three people are still alive, that he is relieved there are no deaths, and that he’s sorry. Here are some screenshots.
[Screenshots of video by Instagram/deafinternationalparty]
That’s the summary based on what we know. We are glad everyone is okay, the police are looking for the shooters, and we send our thoughts to the three injured people for a speedy recovery.
***Clarification: The shooting happened outside of the conference center, but it was still in an indoors space (like a lobby).
Links:
Aksu Ali Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9Z_VdqMau3/?igsh=MXNuMHd1ZjU5cm1hZQ==
News articles: