A man in the check‑in hall ignited a fire and started swinging a hammer at the desks and monitors at Milan Malpensa airport terminal 1 just before 11 a.m. local time this morning. Some bystanders thought they heard shots, which were the hammer blows on metal.
Smoke pushed across the hall. Fire response evacuated the area, and border police took the man in his mid-to-late 20s into custody after airport staff and a few passengers brought him down. The suspect is Malian origin, and faces aggravated damage charges.
Man armed with a hammer sets fire to check in desk at Italy's, Malepensa Milan airport
Italian media reports the man is from Mali and has subsidiary international protection until 2027. pic.twitter.com/dHOsUcWMVo— Uncensored News (@Uncensorednewsw) August 20, 2025
Some coverage says he used a flammable liquid, which would be consistent with how fast the flames jump in the clips, but this is not confirmed.
No passenger injuries were reported. The terminal was evacuated for smoke only, then reopened while airlines continued processing passengers with modest delays.
@AmericanAir PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AT MXP !! No communication is the worst!!! pic.twitter.com/qNPp1FCkJf
— TennisRose (@SwimmerOnce) August 20, 2025
.@AmericanAir We are stuck in Italy at check in. There was a fire. We board in 15 minutes. We need something done. pic.twitter.com/5p4xo3iCur
— Clara gyomory (@vbclaragyomory) August 20, 2025
We’ve seen attacks at airports prior to security in places like Brussels, Istanbul and LAX. A hammer never sees a checkpoint if you’re not airside, and a splash of accelerant turns any bin into a torch. In fact, long security lines create stable targets for attack. It’s unclear the motivation for today attack.
That’s arson. Charge him.
Immigration status is irrelevant. If a visitor or resident does this, it’s still a crime. The bad behavior is the problem, not the background of the bad actor. Don’t blame groups of people, that’d be harmfully prejudicial. I expect the typical animus, regardless…
@1990 – thank you for your post. 1000% accurate.
Italy has a large leftist contingent. The socialist judges will say that capitalism and racist Italian society caused this violent outburst and release this man with the apologies of the court.
@Wesley — Ah, there it is… the tropes begin! As expected, some, such as yourself, rush to attack perceived political foes, ignoring the fact that Italy is currently governed by Meloni and her party, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), in a coalition with the League (Lega) and Forza Italia, all of which follow right-wing and center-right ideologies. So, conveniently and predictably, you blame ‘the left,’ or whatever ‘boogeyman’ you can concoct, when they haven’t been in-charge for a while. Do better!