A 17-year-old Italian has been hospitalised in critical condition after being struck with a set of brass knuckles outside a nightclub in the resort town of Gallipoli, on the country's southern coast.
The assault took place in the early hours of 19 July 2026 as a dispute that began inside the venue spilled onto the street, according to investigators. The teenager, on holiday from the province of Potenza, was repeatedly hit on the head and abdomen in what authorities described as a altercation over trivial motives. An ambulance crew rushed him just before dawn to the trauma centre at Vito Fazzi hospital in Lecce, where he was admitted under emergency protocols.
Medical staff later confirmed he is not in life-threatening danger. Police have opened an investigation into the assault.