Photo: Getty Images
An Italian man has been arrested after allegedly killing a Nigerian street vendor in a brutal beating that was recorded by onlookers who seemingly didn't attempt to physically stop the fatal attack, per AP News.
On Friday (July 29), 39-year-old Nigerian immigrant Alika Ogorchukwu was selling goods on the main street of Italian beach town Civitanova Marche when a man grabbed the vendor's crutch and violently beat him to the ground.
Widely-shared video of the attacker wrestling Ogorchukwu, subduing the victim with the weight of his body, and hitting him to death has sparked outrage in Italy.
"The aggressor went after the victim, first hitting him with a crutch. He made him fall to the ground, then he finished, causing the death, hitting him repeatedly with his bare hands,'' the town's chief commissioner, Fabio Mazza, said in a statement.
Law enforcement arrived at the scene after the suspect had fled and attempted to administer aid to the victim, police investigator Matteo Luconi said in a statement.
Police later tracked the attacker using street cameras and arrested an Italian man identified as 32-year-old Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo.
Luconi said the violent beating began after Ogorchukwu allegedly made "insistent" requests for pocket change.
However, Daniel Amanza, head of the ACSIM association for immigrants in the Marche region's Macerata province, said that the assailant launched his attack after the vendor told the man's companion that she was beautiful.
“This compliment killed him,’’ Amanza told AP.
“The tragic fact is that there were many people nearby. They filmed, saying ‘Stop,’ but no one moved to separate them,’’ he continued.
Footage of the attack comes as immigration remains a hot-button issue in Italy amid a parliamentary election campaign.
“The murder of Alika Ogorchukwu is dismaying,’’ Enrico Letta, head of the left-wing Democratic Party, said in a statement. “Unheard of ferocity. Widespread indifference. There can be no justification.”
Right-wing leader Matteo Salvini also condemned the brutal beating saying, “security has no color and ... needs to return to being a right.”
Civitanova Marche's mayor, Fabrizio Ciarapica, met with Nigerian community members after demonstrations against the fatal attack were held on Saturday (July 30).
“My condemnation is not only for the (crime) but it is also for the indifference,'' Ciarapica said in a statement. ”This is something that has shocked citizens."
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. These additional resources are also available:
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
For more mental health resources, click HERE.
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.