GENOA, Italy.- A teenager was walking alone on a Genoa street when he was surrounded by 11 young people. Within minutes, according to the police reconstruction, one threatened him with a stick, another began hitting him in the face and the rest closed in until he was pressed against a wall.
The assault took place Saturday night on Corso Sardegna, in the San Fruttuoso area. The 16-year-old ended up without his cellphone and the small amount of money he was carrying. The investigation led to four arrests and seven reports to judicial authorities, including those involving two young men from the Dominican Republic.
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Genoa’s State Police said on September 7 that the four arrested suspects are minors: two Italians aged 15 and 16, a 17-year-old Colombian and an Ecuadorian of the same age.
The other seven people involved, all adults, were reported to judicial authorities for their alleged participation in the robbery. According to official information from the Genoa Police Headquarters, the group includes two 18-year-old Italians, a 19-year-old Italian woman, a 19-year-old Colombian and two Dominicans aged 18 and 22.
The victim received help after a passerby found him in pain on the street and alerted authorities. By then, the group had already left the area.
But the stolen phone was still sending a signal.
Officers used its geolocation system and followed the device to the area in front of Brignole railway station, where they located the group. Everyone was identified and taken to police facilities for further checks.
Review of surveillance cameras and the teenager’s testimony allowed investigators to reconstruct what happened and preliminarily determine who may have taken part directly in the assault.
During subsequent searches, officers found doses of cannabis, kitchen knives, scissors and irritant spray among some of the young people. One of the Dominicans, aged 18, was also reported administratively for possession of a narcotic substance for personal use, according to information released about the operation.
Authorities also said that some members of the group may have been connected to other attempted robberies that were not completed.
The four minors who were arrested were placed at the disposal of judicial authorities while the arrests are reviewed. The seven adults remain under investigation but at liberty.
The case is only beginning its judicial process. Both Italian police and the media reporting on the investigation have emphasized that the people named retain the presumption of innocence until a final judgment is issued.
The Genoa State Police also has institutional photographs that may be used as a visual reference for this coverage.
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