(TJV NEWS) An American teacher’s vacation in Italy turned into a nightmare when he was brutally attacked in broad daylight by two migrants at a train station just outside Milan — an incident underscoring growing concerns about the refusal of many Islamic migrants in Europe to assimilate, The New York Post and Daily Mail reported.

Nick Pellegrino, 29, a Catholic school athletic coach from Staten Island now living in San Francisco, was traveling through San Giuliano Milanese when he was ambushed by two assailants believed to be of North African origin. The migrants reportedly stabbed him in the neck with a 5-inch blade, stole his gold crucifix and luggage, then fled the scene — leaving him bleeding heavily on the train platform, NY Post and Daily Mail reported.

The savage attack happened just as the train reached the station. Pellegrino said he was looking at his phone when the men suddenly charged. “I remember looking at the floor in the train and just seeing the blade of the knife, and the most frightening amount of blood I have ever seen,” he told The New York Post from his hospital bed.

The knife wound pierced his neck and grazed his jugular. Paramedics later told him he lost roughly a liter and a half of blood — nearly enough to prove fatal. “It took the ambulance 15 minutes to get to me,” he said. “A few more minutes, and I was a goner. I could feel, with every heartbeat, another gush of blood coming out.”

A 16-year-old bystander was the first to call for help as shocked onlookers filmed Pellegrino staggering and begging for his life. In one now-deleted video briefly posted to Instagram, the wounded teacher can be heard crying out, “I don’t want to die, Lord.”

The attackers fled with his luggage and religious jewelry, including the gold crucifix ripped from his neck. Italian police have since arrested two North African men in connection with the assault, but have not released their names. Investigators told Pellegrino the same individuals had attacked an elderly man with a glass bottle and robbed a woman moments before targeting him.

The attack has fueled anger and debate in Italy, where a worsening migrant crisis has already sparked a national emergency. Over 157,000 migrants arrived in Italy across the Mediterranean in 2023 alone — many from countries like Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, and Syria — intensifying public concerns over violent crime and cultural clashes, Daily Mail reported.

“With these very loose, lefty immigration laws, these immigrants come into these countries and they’re running amok, trying to murder people,” Pellegrino told the Post. “It’s a playground for terror, for the vicious. I know America has a big immigration problem, but it is worse here.”

San Giuliano Milanese station, the site of the attack, has reportedly seen several violent incidents in recent months.

Doctors stitched up Pellegrino’s neck with nine sutures and are closely monitoring a blood clot. He is expected to remain in the hospital through the weekend. Despite the trauma, Pellegrino said the experience has deepened his religious faith.

“I used to doubt,” he said. “I don’t doubt anymore. This has grounded me in my faith. I know Jesus saved me, and I will always be a believer.”

His mother back in Staten Island has been devastated by the ordeal. “My poor mother,” he added. “She’s been a basket case.”

Pellegrino is scheduled to fly back to the U.S. on July 24.