The teenager, who attacked a female teacher in a Rome middle school on September 18, is still hospitalized at the Umberto I hospital, where he has been since the morning of the assault.
Investigators confiscated his own phone and his mother’s device, the latter containing the credit‑card details used to purchase the knives. A forensic copy of both phones was made to reconstruct the minor’s communications in the hours before the attack.
Police are focusing on the boy’s social‑media profile, which he opened shortly before the assault and streamed live, and on the four followers who were connected to that account. The goal is to determine whether anyone may have incited or encouraged the violence.
The carabinieri have already sent an initial report to the public prosecutor’s office at the Juvenile Court. Although the 13‑year‑old is not criminally liable under Italian law, prosecutors are expected to open a formal investigation file, likely for the offence of bodily injury.
If the investigation confirms the need for protective measures, the minor could be placed under a range of rehabilitative options, from foster‑care services to placement in a community facility.
Psychotherapist Matteo Lancini, president of the Minotauro Foundation, commented on the case, stressing that the incident reflects broader societal desensitisation to violence and a lack of appropriate outlets for young people’s emotions. He urged families and schools to discuss such issues privately rather than on television.
Lancini also warned that the current Italian juvenile justice system, while advanced, must continue to focus on rehabilitation rather than punitive measures, noting that the boy’s future will be shaped by the support he receives now.