On January 29, on the streets of Rome, an 8-year-old Jewish boy, wearing a kippah and holding his mother's hand, was violently attacked by a 33-year-old Egyptian man armed with the shard of a bottle. Shopkeeepers came to the aid of the boy and his mother and were, in turn, assaulted. The man fled but was apprehended a short distance away by police.
The below article in today's La Stampa is translated by Fousesquawk. In addition, Il Tempo has a silent video of the assault on the shopkeepers and the attacker in police custody. The above photo shows the attacker going after those who tried to intervene.
As yet, I have found no reports on the condition of the boy or the others involved. I assume their injuries are minor.
Rome, 8-year-old boy attacked because he was wearing a kippah: 33-year-old arrested
The mother tried to protect the little boy, and some shopkeepers intervened.
By Irene Fama
3 February 2025 at 17:34
He was holding his mother's hand, a kippah on his head, the headgear that in Judaism, men wear in religious places when he was attacked by a 33-year-old in the center of Rome.
The victim, an 8-year-old boy, was walking on via Nazionale. He was chatting with his mother about this and that, telling (her) about his day. At a certain point, a man appeared in front of them. He began to shout at them in a threatening manner.
The little boy tried to hide himself between the legs of his mother (and) tried to protect his face with his hands. As if, by covering his face, that man couldn't see him. The 33-year-old grabbed him. And he hit him with a flurry of kicks and punches. Then he pulled out a shard of a bottle from his pocket and continued to hit him. The mother tried to block him. A shopkeeper witnessed the attack. But (the attacker) brandishing the shard of glass, threatened him. Then he fled.
The officers of the Capital Digos (Rome police-serious crimes unit), led by Antonio Bocelli, tracked him down a short distance from there. Thanks to the identikit provided by the victims and analysis of the video surveillance camera footage of the shops and businesses in the area, they located him on the street near the Colosseum. He still had the bottle fragment in his pocket.
Never (previously) in trouble with the law, the 33-year-old, according to initial findings by the police, lives on the street. Born in Egypt, he arrived in Italy a short time ago. Twice turned back at the French and Belgian borders, he holds international protected status.
Now in custody, he is accused of having tried to disfigure the boy's face. And those of two women.
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