Italy shaken by fatal school bombing

Melissa Bassi, 16, was killed by an explosion caused by three gas devices placed near the vocational school "Francesca Laura Morvillo Falcone" while other seven female students were transferred to hospital, of which one was in "serious peril of life."

The victim and her schoolmates had just got off a bus and were about to enter the school shortly before 8:00 am local time, when a violent explosion hit the group near the entry gate of the school in the city center.

Local police, authorities and citizens rushed on the spot described the situation as "dreadful."

"The scene was chilling, the ground sprinkled with debris and books. There is no doubt that it was an attack organized for massacring students," regional councilor for policies on youth Nicola Fratoianni told Rai state television.

"I saw one girl whose body was widely burnt shouting the name of her best friend Melissa, who then died. It was shocking," said one of the survived students.

Political and judicial authorities blamed the local mafia for the unprecedented attack, which, according to police sources, was activated by a timer. However, there was no concrete information as to who might be behind the attack for the time being.

Analysts noted that the school was named after the wife of Giovanni Falcone, an anti-mafia magistrate. The magistrate and his wife were killed along with three bodyguards in a mafia bomb attack on May 23, 1992.

In addition, the institute had been the winner of the first edition of a local legality award, and is located in front of a court where an anti-mafia march was supposed to take place on Saturday.

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