Overview

• A 21-year-old Malian citizen is accused of forcing entry into a Pistoia home, threatening a 74-year-old woman with a knife and sexually assaulting her after she refused his demand for money.
• Investigators reviewed neighborhood surveillance footage and witness accounts to pinpoint the suspect’s movements following the attack.
• The Polizia Ferroviaria apprehended him early Saturday at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella station, where officers found two razor blades concealed in his mouth.
• The victim was hospitalized in shock and treated for injuries deemed curable within a few days.
• Local residents have voiced heightened fears over public safety and called for enhanced security measures in the aftermath of the assault.