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‘He is no longer the boy he was before’ – Italian 15-year-old left disfigured after 100 stitches, 8-member youth gang attacked him with machete
A 15-year-old Italian student named Matteo was attacked by eight teens with a migrant background outside his school in Cesena, in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Italy, according to a report from the Italian news outlet Fuori dal Coro. During the attack, Matteo suffered life-changing injuries from machete and knife blows that left him disfigured, required more than 100 stitches, and left him unable to realize his dream of becoming a pilot.
His mother has since appeared on national television, stating that her boy “is no longer the boy he was before.”
Matteo was living in the school’s boarding facility while attending the Technical Institute of Aeronautics in nearby Forlì. He was exercising with two friends when a group of eight minors, aged 15–17 at the time and all from the Cesena area, approached. They arrived on four mopeds or scooters, some wearing hoods or balaclavas.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 28, 2026
8 youths with a foreign background attacked 15-year-old Italian boy Matteo with a machete and a knife outside his school in Cesena.
During the attack, Matteo suffered life-changing injuries that left him disfigured, requiring 100 stitches.
The suspects are currently… pic.twitter.com/oZ92Nxzr0K
Two of them initially demanded payment of a €45 debt for hashish that a “young foreigner” in the group had sold him. Matteo refused, saying the product was of poor quality. The rest of the group then joined in what prosecutors described as a premeditated punitive expedition.
CCTV footage captured the assault, which lasted under 10 seconds and has since been replayed on Italian news networks.
The group surrounded Matteo, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. One attacker used a machete on his face and hands; others used a large knife, described in some reports as a kitchen knife, and a telescopic baton. Matteo tried to protect himself with his hands. The attackers then fled.
Matteo suffered permanent damage to three fingers on one hand. He also suffered a deep slash starting near the ear, crossing the left cheek, and reaching the neck. This required maxillofacial surgery and damaged the parotid gland, requiring repeated drainage at Bufalini Hospital in Cesena. During a Fuori dal Coro report, the network interviewed Matteo’s mother and reported that he received more than 100 stitches in total, with the attack resulting in permanent facial scarring.
Doctors noted that covering his face with his hand likely saved his life by preventing the blade from severing a major artery. However, he is no longer medically eligible to become a commercial pilot, the career he had been training for.
Despite the serious nature of the attack, the host of Fuori dal Coro said, “The incredible thing is that these eight defendants are free.”
Matteo’s mother replied, “Yes, the eight defendants are awaiting trial while remaining free.”
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 7, 2025
The store owner, Emiliano, says he has been robbed many times before.
He warned that criminals are getting young and younger.
Source: Italian media outlet Fuori dal coro. pic.twitter.com/14ggVScnxc
She said her son is trying to move forward, but “he is no longer the boy he was before. He still suffers major physical and psychological consequences. The wounds on his face and hand are visible and disabling. Beyond those, there are deeper wounds: his fear, the loss of his peace of mind, and the difficulty in trusting others. He had to rewrite his future, completely upending all of his plans.”
Matteo’s mother conveyed this story while footage of her son’s attack was looped in the background of their interview, highlighting the horror he experienced at the hands of the youths of foreign origin.
Given that the attack happened at the boarding school, it is presented as an illustration of a deteriorating security situation in schools across Italy and Europe amid mass immigration.
Matteo was forced to change schools and left the boarding facility after four years there. He also lost a school year because of treatment and recovery. Because of ongoing psychological issues caused by the attack, his family has paid for private psychological care and medical expenses.
Fuori dal Coro openly uses the term “maranza,” a slang label in Italy for a street style often associated with second-generation immigrant youth, who frequently have a North African background. These gang youths often have Italian citizenship but are linked to petty crime or more serious violence.
They have not been held in pre-trial detention and remain free while awaiting proceedings. Neither they nor their parents have contacted Matteo’s family or apologized.
Prosecutor Simone Purgato of the Bologna Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office charged them with aggravated serious injuries, permanent facial disfigurement, carrying weapons, private violence, attempted extortion, and related drug offenses.
The mother has described the lack of any remorse from the attackers or their families and the ongoing trauma for her, her son, and their family. She emphasized that they seek accountability rather than revenge. Local officials, including the mayor of Medicina, condemned the “cowardice of the pack.”
Due to the perpetrators’ ages, they are likely to receive far lighter sentences if found guilty than they would if they were adults.
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