Rome prosecutors on Wednesday
opened a probe after a violent attack on a migrant reception
center in the city's outlying Torre Sapienza neighborhood late
on Tuesday in which two people were injured, including a police
officer who was hospitalized with contusions.
Some 80 enraged residents set cars and dumpsters on fire
and threw stones and flares at police who stood guard throughout
the night around the reception center, which houses some 40
underage kids who were rescued at sea by Italy's Mare Nostrum
immigrant search-and-rescue operation.
"Some 70-80 people, many of them with their faces covered
and armed with sticks, attacked the center and our patrols with
a clear intent to commit an assault, throwing blunt objects and
flares at law enforcement and at the center itself," police said
in a statement.
The minors responded by hurling objects out the windows as
police charged the attackers and threw tear gas to disperse
them.
Tensions remained high throughout the day Wednesday in the
eastern suburb, where police remained on guard at the reception
center.
The violence came after 400 people turned out to a public
meeting Tuesday to call for more security after a local girl was
harassed while walking her dog in broad daylight.
Residents also complained of car thefts, the lack of
lighting in the neighborhood park, and a rash of house
break-ins, which residents ascribe to foreigners living in the
area, which also include Romanians and Albanians who reside in
low-income housing and Roma people who live in an area
encampment.
"We are exasperated, not because we are racists but
because these people commit thefts and attacks. They are making
our neighborhood unlivable," one female resident said.
"If no one will guarantee our safety and justice, we will
have to provide it ourselves".
City authorities were swift to slam the episode of gang
vigilantism.
"We will not let citizens' safety be endangered by a gang
of violent extremists venting their fanaticism," said Mayor
Ignazio Marino, adding that the area will be policed "centimeter
by centimeter" to prevent more violence.
"Rome rejects the ignoble anti-immigrant witch hunt (and)
the attempted violence on defenseless kids," Marino said.
"Some 70-80 people, many of them with their faces covered and
armed with sticks, attacked the center and our two patrols with
a clear intent to commit an assault, throwing blunt objects and
flares at law enforcement and at the center itself," police said
in a statement.
The kids responded by hurling objects out the windows as police
charged the attackers and threw tear gas to disperse them.
Tensions remained high throughout the day Wednesday in the
eastern suburb, where police remained on guard at the reception
center.
The violence came after 400 people turned out to a public
meeting Tuesday to call for more security after a girl was while
walking her dog in broad daylight. Residents also complained of
car thefts, the lack of lighting in the neighborhood park, and a
rash of house break-ins, which residents ascribe to the
foreigners.
"We are exasperated, not because we are racists but because
these people commit thefts and attacks. They are making our
neighborhood unlivable," one female resident said. "If no one
will guarantee us safety and justice, we are forced to provide
it ourselves".
City authorities were swift to slam the episode of gang
vigilantism.
"We will not let citizens' safety be endangered by a gang of
violent extremists venting their fanaticism," said Mayor Ignazio
Marino, adding thearea will be policed "centimeter by
centimeter" to prevent more violence.
"Rome rejects the ignoble anti-immigrant witch hunt (and) the
attempted violence on defenseless kids".
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