Two boys, 16 and 17, confess to six Rome minicar gang attacks, including on actor Davide Iacopini
Two boys, aged 16 and 17, have admitted the six assaults in Rome between 4 and 5 October. Carabinieri and local police seized a black minicar overnight that matches the vehicle used in the attacks.
Two teenagers confess after overnight questioning
Two boys, aged 16 and 17, have admitted the six assaults in Rome that took place between 4 and 5 October, according to reports from ANSA and Adnkronos. A Rome prosecutor questioned them overnight at a carabinieri barracks, and both were reported to the authorities while remaining free. They are accused of attempted murder. Investigators coordinated the inquiry through deputy chief prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini and prosecutor Ambrogio Cassiani. The case file has now been passed to the prosecutor's office for minors, which will decide how to assess the charges.
Reports say the pair heard in the inquiry that they had enjoyed themselves that night. Investigators are not describing the motive beyond the account that the two were celebrating one of their birthdays between 4 and 5 October.
How investigators found the minicar
Carabinieri from the San Pietro company and Rome's local police seized a black minicar overnight, a vehicle they judged to match the one used in the attacks. The driver lives in Monteverde and his friend in Testaccio. One of the two is reportedly the son of a carabiniere and the owner of the vehicle. Investigators followed the account of a mechanic who said he had fitted red LEDs close to the number plate and added stickers to the car. A tracking app of the kind parents use to monitor their children was also found on one of the boys' phones. The work drew on the cyber investigation and technical-scientific survey sections of the Rome carabinieri investigative unit and the RIS.
The attacks and the victims
One of the six cases involves a 67-year-old man who was walking along Viale dei Quattro Venti late on the evening of 4 October when a black microcar carrying two people approached him. The passenger struck him in the side with a plastic pipe. He was near his home and did not seek medical help, but he later reported the attack to the carabinieri station in Monteverde Nuovo. Actor Davide Iacopini, known for his role in the Roman crime series Suburra, was seriously injured in the attacks and remains in hospital with a reserved prognosis. The number of reported incidents rose to six after the man's report.
- A 67-year-old man is struck with a plastic pipe from a black microcar late in the evening on Viale dei Quattro Venti
- Six assaults in Rome, including the attack that seriously injured actor Davide Iacopini
- Overnight, the minicar is seized and the two boys are questioned and reported to the authorities
What happens next
The file has moved from the Rome prosecutor's office to the juvenile court prosecutor, who will weigh the accusation of attempted murder against the two boys. The suspects were not detained, so their status will depend on the decisions taken by that office. Investigators have linked the seized car to the assaults on the basis of its appearance and the physical evidence gathered. Further steps in the case will follow from the juvenile prosecutor's assessment of the evidence collected by the carabinieri and local police.