8-year-old boy wearing yarmulke attacked in Rome

An eight-year-old boy wearing a yarmulke has been attacked in Rome, Italian media reports.

A 33-year-old Egyptian national has been arrested in connection with the incident.

According to reports, the boy and his mother were walking together on the central Via Nazionale on Thursday when the man appeared in front of them and started yelling at the boy.

After the boy tried to hide between his mother’s legs and covered his face with his hands, the man grabbed him and began kicking and punching him.

The boy’s mother and a shopkeeper tried to stop the man as he took a broken bottle out of his pocket. The man threatened them with the glass before running away.

Using surveillance videos from nearby shops and clubs in the area, Italian anti-terrorist police tracked down the suspect shortly after, still with the broken bottle in his pocket.

The suspect, a migrant living on the streets of Italy, had arrived recently after being rejected at the borders of France and Belgium, reports say.

He was charged with attempting to mutilate a child and two women. There were no charges relating to the motive.