Rome middle school student stabs teacher during live stream as police investigate online instigators

The morning attack at Giovanni Verga school

On Friday morning, a 13-year-old student attacked 66-year-old humanities teacher Isabella Marsilio at the Giovanni Verga middle school in Rome's Centocelle district. The boy arrived on the school premises wearing a military green helmet fitted with a mobile phone mount, protective softair goggles, and gloves. He carried diving knives and pepper spray, which he had purchased from a softair equipment website using his mother's credit card. After moving through the corridor, he sprayed Marsilio in the face and struck her with a blade. Another student in the third-year class, who arrived in Italy from the Republic of the Congo, intervened physically to halt the assault. Emergency services treated Marsilio at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries and severe shock.

Investigation into online instigation

Carabinieri from the Casilina company and officers from the Postal Police began forensic examinations of the boy's mobile phone, his computer, and his mother's digital devices. Investigators found that the student attempted to broadcast the attack live over Telegram to five active viewers. Before arriving at the school, the boy posted images of his preparations, including a white shirt inscribed with the letters TMD, an acronym standing for Total Muslim Death. At 09:14 on Friday morning, he sent a message telling group contacts to watch the television news later. Digital investigators are working to determine whether members of online groups instructed the boy on weapon selection or incited the attack.

“On the latest cases I cannot say anything, but they do not seem to have a political connotation, but the fascination with violence and weapons can lead to radicalisation phenomena of an Islamist or supremacist nature.”

Subculture ties and digital profile

Police records indicate the boy participated in online channels associated with the True Crime Community, a digital network where users discuss criminal cases and, in extreme factions, glorify mass attackers. Prior to its removal by platform moderators, the boy's TikTok account had accumulated over 4,300 followers and 70,000 likes. His online posts celebrated Timofey Kulyanov, a 15-year-old who carried out a knife attack at a school near Moscow, and included references to the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in the United States. In a 14-member WhatsApp group examined by investigators, participants regularly exchanged messages about school life alongside discussions of criminal cases.

Medical evaluation and legal measures

Following his detention, carabinieri transferred the 13-year-old on Friday evening to the child psychiatry department at Policlinico Umberto I for a formal psychiatric assessment. Under Italian law, minors under the age of 14 cannot face criminal prosecution. The Rome Juvenile Court opened a civil procedure to evaluate administrative and re-educational measures, including possible placement in an educational community if municipal social services deem the family environment unsuitable. The school had previously established a support desk, and the boy had seen a private psychologist over the past year after showing signs of isolation. Marsilio stated that she will not pursue legal complaints against her student.

“I will not proceed with a complaint, my student must be supported and accompanied on a path of awareness and support. I do not want him to face this too.”