Italy's premier Paolo Gentiloni on Tuesday tweeted sympathy for the victims of an attack in the Canadian city of Toronto that killed 10 people and injured 15 when a rented van ploughed into pedestrians.
"Italy is close to the victims' families, to the city of Toronto and to Canada," read the tweet.
Canadian police arrested and were questioning the suspected attacker, named as Alek Minassian, 25, an alleged former special needs student from the nearby town of Richmond Hill who was not previously known to authorities.
Public safety minister Ralph Goodale said there "would appear to be no national security connections" while Canadian broadcaster CBC cited government officials as saying Minassian was not associated with any known terror groups.
The 26-minute rampage took place at lunchtime on Monday on Yonge Street, one of Toronto's main arteries. Police have said it was a deliberate attack.