On the night between Oct 7-8, 2026, in the Porto Vecchio area of Sanremo, a 13-year-old boy of Tunisian origin poured gasoline on a sleeping homeless man and set him on fire in an attempt to steal his backpack.
The incident took place in Piazzale Vesco. According to reports based on surveillance footage, the boy first filled a bottle with gasoline at a nearby pump, approached the man while he slept, poured the fuel on him — primarily on the legs, according to multiple accounts — and ignited it with a match. The goal was reportedly to take the backpack containing the victim’s belongings.
The man’s screams alerted personnel from the Coast Guard. Carabinieri and emergency medical services also responded. The victim, described in reports as a foreign man of approximately 40 years of age, with one account referring to a French man in his sixties, sustained burns to his legs. He was hospitalized for two days at Sanremo’s Ospedale Hospital before being discharged, according to Il Giornale media outlet.
Surveillance cameras operated by the Capitaneria and the Municipality of Sanremo recorded much of the incident.
Investigators identified the 13-year-old, who had initially fled the scene. He was located in a community facility where he lives with his mother.
Under Italian law, anyone under the age of 14 is subject to an absolute presumption of non-imputability. This means the boy cannot be held criminally responsible or subjected to ordinary criminal punishment, regardless of the severity of the act. The juvenile prosecutor’s office in Genoa is handling the case and can consider protective or rehabilitative measures focused on the minor’s situation.
Some coverage has described the migrant youth having prior contact with authorities in Sanremo, though details remain limited as the matter falls under juvenile proceedings.
