Massacre on the outskirts of Rome: Parents and 8-year-old daughter stabbed to death, 20-year-old son injured / His friend sought by police

Rome’s western outskirts have been shaken by a gruesome crime, after a man, his wife and their 8-year-old daughter were found dead with stab wounds in an apartment in the Casalotti area.

The family’s 20-year-old son was injured in the attack, but managed to survive and is being treated in hospital. Meanwhile, police have launched a search for one of his friends, who is considered the main suspect.

The victims were members of a family of Bangladeshi origin: 39-year-old Kamal Udiu, 38-year-old Arzu Udiu, as well as their young daughter. According to Italian authorities, the crime took place on Friday evening in a home on Via Montiglio, after neighbors heard screams around 10:00 p.m. and saw a person running away from the scene.

Immediately after the incident, Italian police launched a large-scale search operation. Drones equipped with infrared cameras are also being used in searches of the surrounding areas and woodland near Casalotti. Investigators suspect the perpetrator may have been someone known to the family and that the victims may have let him into the apartment themselves.

The surviving son, who is being treated at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic, has been questioned by the authorities. Initial findings indicate that a sudden conflict inside the home may have escalated into a deadly attack, while the parents are believed to have tried to protect their daughter.

Residents of the area said they saw a person hurriedly leaving the building, wearing a blue shirt. Meanwhile, investigators are examining security camera footage and the family’s mobile phones in an effort to reconstruct their most recent contacts.

Emergency teams also arrived at the scene, but doctors pronounced the couple and their daughter dead on the spot. Police cordoned off the area, while investigative teams questioned residents and people close to the family.

Italian authorities are pursuing every possible lead, while the motive for the crime has not yet been clarified. According to investigators, there is a possibility that the suspect has left Rome; however, the search is continuing across the region.