A 65-year-old Italian woman has been arrested amid a murder investigation after she allegedly ran over a North African migrant who stole her purse, according to reports.
The harrowing incident unfolded at around midnight on Sunday in Viareggio, a Tuscan city on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Cinzia Dal Pino was reportedly preparing to get into her SUV when a man accosted her and demanded her valuables, warning he was armed with a knife when she resisted.
The mugger grabbed Dal Pino’s purse and was walking away when the victim suddenly rammed him with her vehicle.
Surveillance footage shows a Mercedes SUV crashing into a storefront and apparently reversing over the thief’s body multiple times.
Italian Woman Facing Murder Charge After Running Over African Mugger
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Cinzia Dal Pino, 65, was arrested for allegedly killing Nourdine Naziki, an illegal migrant from Morocco known to police due to various crimes committed over 24-year span
Naziki reportedly stole Dal Pino's… pic.twitter.com/7aUVAJNGBZ
A woman can be seen exiting the vehicle and retrieving something from the injured man’s person before she leaves the scene.
Police later arrested Dal Pino on suspicion of voluntary murder.
“I thought he had a knife,” Dal Pino told authorities, although they say no blade was recovered at the scene.
Dal Pino reportedly said she had no intention of killing the man, but was trying to stop him as he made off with her cell phone, personal documents, and other key items.
The suspect was initially identified as a 47-year-old Algerian man named Said Malkoum, however, new reports indicate he was actually a Moroccan illegal migrant who has been living in Italy for nearly 25 years under a false alias.
Nourdine Naziki, 52, hailed from Casablancas and was reportedly homeless at the time of his death.
Naziki was well-known to local authorities, who had repeatedly requested he be deported due to his frequent involvement in crime, including theft.
Italian media has depicted Dal Pino as a privileged, wealthy businesswoman, while Naziki has been portrayed as an unfortunate outcast, struggling to survive on the fringes of society.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has weighed in on the incident, saying, “The death of a person is always a tragedy and justice will have to take its course. This drama, however, is the consequence of a crime: if the man who lost his life wasn’t a criminal, it wouldn’t have ended like this.”
Naziki’s sisters have reportedly urged Moroccan authorities to seek justice for him, even appealing for an intervention from King Mohammed VI.
Naziki’s body will reportedly be returned to his family in Morocco where he will receive ritual Islamic funeral and burial.
Dal Pino is currently under house arrest amid an ongoing investigation and legal proceedings, according to the latest available updates.
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