A boy who saved his classmates from an alleged school bus hijacker will be granted Italian citizenship, deputy PM Matteo Salvini has said.
Ramy Shehata, 13, raised the alarm on his hidden phone when the driver seized them from other pupils.
He and 50 other children escaped the vehicle before it was set alight near Milan.
Mr Salvini said the boy should be rewarded with citizenship for his heroics, Ansa news agency reports.
“Yes to citizenship for Ramy because it’s as if he was my son and he showed he understood the values of this country,” Mr Salvini told Ansa.
Ramy, whose father immigrated to Italy from Egypt in 2001, was reportedly born in Italy but was never issued with official documentation.
Under Italian law, children born to immigrant parents are not eligible for citizenship until they turn 18.
