The mayor of Venice declared that if anyone shouts ‘Allahu Akbar,’ authorities will “send them straight to Allah” in light of the Barcelona terror attacks.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro made the remark at a conference where he also stated that Venice’s more aggressive approach to thwarting terrorists made the city far more secure than Barcelona, according to The Times. Other Italian leaders, such as Mayor Andrea Gnassi of Rimini, expressed disdain for Brugnaro’s blunt warning to Islamic terrorists, but Brugnaro said Venice’s success in routing out terrorists speaks for itself.

“In contrast with Barcelona, where they had not set up protection, we keep our guard up,” Burgnaro said. “If anyone runs into St Mark’s Square shouting ‘Allahu Akhbar’, we will take him down. A year ago I said after four steps, now after three. I will say it in Venetian: ‘Ghe Sparemo’ (We will shoot him).”

Venetian authorities arrested four jihadists from Kosovo in March who allegedly planned to bomb a bridge and kill hundreds of people. Brugnaro hailed the arrest as an example of the success of Venice’s tough stance toward threats of terror.

“In Venice, we arrested four terrorists who wanted to blow up the Rialto bridge, saying they wanted to go to Allah. But we’ll send them straight to Allah before they can do any damage,” Brugnaro said.

Mayor Dario Nardella of Florence mocked Brugnaro immediately after the speech and ran up to him shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ while Gnassi took to Facebook to suggest that he could not understand Brugnaro’s remarks because of his Venetian dialect.

“I have never been politically correct, I am incorrect,” Bruganaro responded. “I would shoot, we would shoot … if you want to kill me, maybe I will defend myself.”

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