In the middle of the day, a 32-year-old Italian man attacks a 39-year-old Nigerian man in an Italian shopping street. He pursues his victim, makes him fall and hits him several times - even when the man is already on the ground. A passerby speaks of a racist act, the police suspect another motive.
In Italy, the killing of a street vendor in broad daylight in the Adriatic coastal town of Civitanova Marche has sparked widespread outrage. The 39-year-old Nigerian was attacked and beaten to death by a 32-year-old Italian on Friday afternoon, police said at a press conference in the small town in central Italy.
The alleged perpetrator pursued his victim, brought him down with his crutch and hit him several times. He then took the man's cell phone with him. The police arrested the man on suspicion of premeditated murder and robbery. The crime happened on a busy shopping street in the center of the city. A video circulated online showing the attacker attacking his victim while he was still on the ground. In the background people can be heard shouting "stop it" or "somebody call the police".
The case sparked nationwide horror because apparently nobody came to help. A passer-by said on Italian television that the man was only killed because of the color of his skin. The police, on the other hand, emphasized that there were no signs of a racist act. Investigators suspected the suspect's exaggerated reaction to the crime when the victim asked for money.
According to media reports, the man was a well-known street vendor in the area. The regional president of the Marche region, where Civitanova Marche is located, spoke on Facebook of "insane and unprecedented violence". According to him, the region wants to appear as a civil party in a possible court case. Politicians from left to right parties in Rome, who are in the middle of the election campaign, also expressed their horror at the crime and their condolences to the bereaved.
