Rome police release photo of suspect in triple family murder; manhunt underway for Bangladeshi man
Italian police have released a photo of Shahadat Hossain, the 43-year-old Bangladeshi man suspected of killing a couple and their 8-year-old daughter with a cleaver in their Rome apartment on Thursday evening. The suspect, a family friend, is still at large and left a disturbing Facebook message the day before.
The attack
On the evening of 26 June, between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., neighbours alerted police after hearing screams from an apartment on via Montiglio in the Pineta Sacchetti area of Rome, also known as Casalotti. Inside, officers found the bodies of Kamal Uddin (39), his wife Hosnejahan Momotaj (38) and their daughter Arowa (8), all hacked with a cleaver. The weapon, a mannaia, was seized by forensic teams. The family was of Bangladeshi origin and had no prior police records.
The survivor and his account
The eldest son, Oion (20), turned a few days earlier, was discovered injured at the building entrance and rushed to the Agostino Gemelli hospital with a reserved prognosis. According to reports, he returned home after the attack and saw the killer trying to clean blood from the floor and hiding the bodies under a bed. He managed to flee before collapsing. Oion is the only survivor and will be questioned once his condition stabilises. Early accounts of his age as 18 were later corrected to 20.
The suspect
Shahadat Hossain, also referred to as Hossain Shahadat in some accounts, is a 43-year-old Bangladeshi national who held a refugee permit in Italy and was a family friend. His photograph and personal details were released today via social media and a dedicated WhatsApp channel. The public is being urged to provide any information to the Squadra Mobile.As ordered by the Rome Prosecutor's Office, which is coordinating the investigation of the Flying Squad into the triple murder, the photo of the alleged perpetrator, identified as Shahadat Hossain, born in Bangladesh on 10 May 1983, is being disseminated to the press and on State Police social channels.
A cryptic message and possible motive
The day before the killings, on 25 June, Hossain posted a message on his Facebook profile accompanied by a photograph:
Investigators are treating the post as a possible clue to a personal motive. Members of the Bangladeshi community in Rome have spoken of love disputes between the suspect and the victims, leading authorities to explore a passion-driven scenario.A man not only dies alone, he dies himself and leaves others as if they were dead. That's why you should die with your loved ones when you die. So no one has to suffer for anyone.
Community shock and the hunt
Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri said the events constituted "a tragedy of unheard-of gravity, difficult even to imagine." At the supermarket where Kamal Uddin worked, a customer recalled:
The search for Hossain is ongoing. Police are analysing CCTV footage, the victims' mobile phones, and interviewing family and acquaintances to reconstruct the final hours. They have not ruled out that the family may have opened the door to the attacker.He was always kind, helpful and smiling. I'm horrified thinking what happened to that little girl. There are no words.
- Shahadat Hossain posts a cryptic message on Facebook about dying with loved ones.
- In the evening, neighbours hear screams from the apartment; police find three bodies and a cleaver.
- Oion, the 20-year-old son, is discovered injured at the building entrance and taken to hospital.
- Police release the suspect's photograph and personal details, appealing for information.
