A gang of Tunisian migrant minors is under investigation by Italian police after being accused of burning down their shared accommodation after being caught smoking cannabis and having a laptop confiscated.
The incident occurred on the night of March 3 on via di Novoli, a facility for unaccompanied minors located in the city of Florence.
Il Fatto Quotidiano reported how four minors of Tunisian nationality, aged 16 and 17, were accused of arson at the reception center following an altercation with one of their supervisors.
It is alleged the group was found by a staff member at the facility smoking hashish some hours before the incident.
“The coordinator found some Tunisian boys who were smoking hashish and took immediate action by calling the police, who intervened by carrying out searches and finding small quantities of narcotic substances,” a staff member told Italian media.
Staff also confiscated one of the teenagers’ laptops as punishment, resulting in the minor absconding from the facility the following day.
“The police found him and brought him back to our apartments, and at that point, he went berserk,” staff explained.
The boy was ordered to go to bed by a supervisor, but a short time later, staff could smell smoke coming from the dormitories. Upon inspection, he found several items of clothing on fire in the middle of the room and suspected they had been doused in a flammable liquid such as aftershave. Two of the minors were also attempting to set fire to a mattress in their room.
“At that point, we evacuated everyone and called the firefighters,” staff said.
Emergency responders were swiftly dispatched to the scene and extinguished the fire; following the eyewitness account of the staff member, the four minors were placed under investigation for suspected arson.
It was also alleged that the boys stood in front of the door to the accommodation temporarily to prevent people from evacuating.
An investigation by the fire department confirmed the blaze was caused by the lighting of clothes, mattresses, and pieces of wood.
A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
