Investigation Underway after Stabbing in Genoa’s Historic City Center

(GENOA, Italy) —  A 28-year-old Moroccan man was stabbed with a broken bottle by a Senegalese man during a fight on Sept. 12 on Via di Prè, according to witnesses.  

Despite a new ordinance that added more police officers to the historic city center as of July, there have been several violent incidents, according to locals who spoke with The Click after the stabbing.

The city has experienced a steady increase in violent crime since 2021, according to ISTAT data gathered by Liguria Ricerche, a regional public company supporting research, data and innovation. 

“People always make a mess around here. We don’t look at anything, we don’t say anything,” said Ismael Patary, owner of a fast-food place on Via di Prè.

No one has been arrested in the stabbing incident, a police officer, who did not want to disclose his identity, told the Click.

Raisa Jimenez, who was working in Gusto Latina, a nearby restaurant, said she saw the victim running in the alley with a bottle in his hand. After running, the man fell in front of the restaurant Pre-Boggion at 145 Via di Prè, she added. 

Stefano Rassu, Pre-Boggion’s chef said he found the victim slumped against the grate of his workplace. He was conscious but was bleeding from wounds to his arm and chest. Rassu and other passers-by called 118, Italy’s emergency phone number.

“There was a lot of blood,” the chef said, shaking his head while pointing to blood stains left on the street.

Rassu said that the ambulance took the victim to the Hospital San Martino and fifteen minutes later the police arrived to investigate. 

As of Sept. 16,  the victim was at the Hospital San Martino. The second wound caused a pneumothorax by perforating the lung tissue, according to a doctor who did not wish to disclose his name.

Once the scene had been cleared, the staff of the restaurant was left alone to clean the blood from the street.