Homeless Man Stabbed for Wearing a Cross Necklace in Rome

Case information
Incident date
Country
Italy
Place
Rome
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Islamist
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Physical Violence
Place of Incident
  • Public Street
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Racial/Ethnic/Gender/Cultural Differences
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated

A 44-year-old Georgian man was stabbed in the neck in front of Rome's Termini Station on Easter Eve by a Moroccan man after a dispute about religion on a bus. According to reports, after the victim got off the bus at Termini Station, the aggressor followed him and after noticing the crucifix necklace he was wearing, called the Georgian man a "Italian Catholic Sh*t"and tried to cut his throat with a kitchen knife. The Moroccan man was arrested by police and charged with attempted murder with religious hatred as an aggravating factor.

Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini called for security to be increased, telling prefects and police chiefs to "increase checks and attention in places of aggregation of Islamic citizens in order to prevent any type of violence against innocent citizens."

Sources: Il Giornale, ANSA, and Il Tempo

Sources