MODENA – A 32-year-old Ivorian national has been arrested by State Police on charges of aggravated assault and trespassing. The incident occurred yesterday morning after the man, who had been illegally occupying a vacant home, was caught by neighbors attempting to break into their garage and subsequently attacked them with a wooden stick.
Police units were dispatched to Via Amendola following multiple emergency calls reporting a violent altercation. Upon arrival, witnesses who had been following the suspect directed officers to a nearby street, where the 32-year-old was apprehended.
According to reports, the events unfolded when a couple discovered the man trying to force open the shutter of their underground garage using bolt cutters and a carpenter’s mallet. The suspect then assaulted them, striking the victims multiple times on the head and body with a stick. The weapon splintered from the force of the blows. The attack continued as he chased the couple into their garden, in full view of several witnesses who later trailed the assailant.
The individual fled to a residence he had been squatting in for several days. Another witness reported seeing him in the courtyard washing the wooden stick in a container. Police later recovered the broken stick and a pair of bolt cutters near the property. The victims handed the mallet over to authorities.
The assaulted couple received medical attention from emergency services and were transported to a hospital. Both were later discharged with a prognosis of 20 days for recovery. A judge has since validated the arrest and ordered the suspect to be held in pre-trial detention.