A wave of brutal violence swept across Naples and its province on Sunday, leaving four young men, aged between 17 and 22, wounded in separate attacks. The incidents, which included stabbings and shootings—some allegedly at the hands of their peers—have prompted a major law enforcement response and a public alarm from the city’s top official.
The most serious episode occurred in the town of Sant’Antimo, where a 17-year-old boy was shot multiple times near a public park. He was driven to the emergency room by a friend and remains in grave condition, fighting for his life. Police are investigating the shooting.
In a separate incident in Naples, a 22-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and taken to the hospital by his father-in-law before 4:30 AM. Carabinieri are investigating and have located a car, found near the father-in-law’s home, containing blood stains.
Elsewhere in the city, police are probing the shooting of a 17-year-old in the leg. The minor initially provided false details to officers, claiming he was the victim of an attempted robbery—an account now under scrutiny. In the town of Marigliano, Carabinieri are investigating a probable fight among teenagers which left one 17-year-old with minor arm wounds.
While no connections have yet been established between these events, investigations are ongoing.
In response to the surge in violence, Naples Prefect Michele di Bari has ordered heightened police patrols. He also issued a stark warning, calling for a united preventive effort from all public and private social institutions to “intercept all signals of deviance from the younger generations” and intervene before youths are recruited by criminality.
This outburst of violence underscores a growing alarm over youth crime in Naples, where fatal conflicts have previously erupted from trivial motives such as dirty shoes, a spilled drink, or a poorly parked scooter.