Manhunt with drones in Rome after triple murder in Casalotti: suspect Shahadat Hossain still at large
Police are searching for 43-year-old Shahadat Hossain, a Bangladeshi national, after he allegedly killed a fellow countryman, his wife and their eight-year-old daughter in the Casalotti district on Friday evening, wounding the couple's teenage son.
The attack
On Friday evening, 26 June 2026, police were called to an apartment on via Montiglio in the Casalotti neighbourhood of Rome. Inside they found the bodies of Kamal Uddin, his wife Jahan Hosne Momotay and their daughter Islam Arowa, all killed with a cleaver that was later seized by investigators. The couple's 18‑year‑old son, who had been out with his father collecting supermarket trolley tips all day, returned home to discover the scene. He was attacked as the suspect tried to cover his tracks, but managed to flee, bleeding, to the building entrance where the killer broke off the assault when passers‑by appeared.
Manhunt
A massive search operation is underway across Rome and the Lazio region, involving patrols, checkpoints and drones scanning open ground. Police have not ruled out the possibility that Hossain has left the region or taken his own life. A false alarm at Bologna’s central station on Saturday saw an Army‑assisted stop of a man resembling the fugitive, but he was quickly cleared. The international dimension of the manhunt has been activated, though confidence is shrinking that the suspect is still alive.
- Shahadat Hossain moves into an apartment in Rome, helped by future victim Kamal Uddin.
- Hossain has dinner with the Uddin family at an Indian restaurant.
- Triple murder committed in the family's Casalotti apartment. Hossain flees the scene.
- Police launch manhunt with drones and checkpoints. A false alarm at Bologna station delays the search.
Suspect’s background
Hossain arrived in Italy from England in 2025 and applied for a humanitarian residence permit, which was still under review at the time of the murders. For the past six months he had been living in an apartment found for him by the victim, Kamal Uddin. His housemate, Alì Ahamad, described him as a quiet person who regularly spent time with the Uddin family. Hossain was originally from Noakhali, Bangladesh, and had previously lived in the United Kingdom, where he married.
Three days ago I saw Shahadat having dinner at the Indian restaurant with Kamal, his wife and the children. It feels strange but that is how it was.
Warnings from the community
Members of Rome’s Bangladeshi community had long known about Hossain’s obsession with Uddin’s wife. According to community representative Mamoud Mamoud, Uddin had asked them to intervene and persuade Hossain to stay away from his family.
Kamal had asked the community to step in, to convince him to leave his family in peace and stop coming to the house.
Several acquaintances told reporters that the two were often seen together, walking side by side, and some even claimed the relationship had begun in Bangladesh. The day before the killings, Hossain posted on social media: “A man does not die alone” and “You should die with your loved ones when you die.” Funeral ceremonies were held in the victims’ home village in Companiganj, Noakhali, where the father of Kamal Uddin, Sirajul Islam, called for justice.
