Today (Aug. 1), a video of a fatal confrontation in Rome is circulating online. On Friday (July 29), a Nigerian street vendor was brutally beaten to death by a white Italian man. The situation took place in broad daylight as onlookers casually walked past on the busy street.

During last week’s deadly altercation, 39-year-old Alika Ogorchukwu was beaten “with his own crutch,” according to ABC News. Police identified his attacker as 32-year-old Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo. As reported by local Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, the attack was a “four-minute long horror.” On Saturday (July 30), Police investigator Matteo Luconi spoke with reporters saying Ferlazzo attacked Ogorchukwu because the vendor was “insistent” on the suspect and the woman he was with giving him pocket change.

A lawyer for the deceased says Ferlazzo was also upset that Ogorchukwu complimented his female companion. Store owners in the area say the vendor was frequently seen around the busy street in Civitanova Marche, an Italian town on the Adriatic Sea. The area is a popular shopping destination in Rome. Today (Aug. 1), a judge will decide if Ferlazzo will remain in jail during the investigation.

As news of Ogorchukwu’s death spread, many social media users were stunned to learn that no one intervened. “The real horror of the murder of Alika Ogorchukwu is the indifference of those who passed by and did nothing while Filippo Ferlazzo was #killing [him],” one tweet read. It continued, “Dozens of people saw, commented and filmed everything. But none intervened.”

Friday’s attack isn’t the first time an African male has been killed at the hands of Italians. In 2020, Willy Monteiro Duarte was beaten to death near Rome after trying to break up a fight. According to ABC News, four Italian men were recently convicted for their roles in the killing, with two receiving life sentences. Duarte’s family originated from Cape Verde.