Brawl breaks out in Italian supermarket after shopper tells off youths for ignoring social distancing rules
- Viral video shows youths being attacked for not conforming to social-distancing
- ‘Either wear a mask or I’ll call the police,’ the angry shopper says to the youths
- Fight appears to be inside of a store in the city of Cittadella, in Naples, in Italy
- ‘They wanted to cross line, and didn’t keep a distance of one meter,’ says report
Video footage has emerged of a fight in an Italian supermarket which allegedly began because a group of young people flagrantly ignored social-distancing measures.
The footage, procured by la Repubblica, appears to be of the inside of a convenience store in the city of Cittadella, in Naples, Italy. It happened on Tuesday night.
In it, a group of youths can be seen wearing hooded jackets and crowding together at what appears to be the checkout area.
After some moments, voices are raised and the first punch is thrown.
The footage has gone viral on social media.
In this image taken by a fellow shopper, the youths can be seen squaring off with the man in the shop asking them keep one-metre away
Here a man wearing a protective mask can be seen fleeing the scene, while the fight gets underway behind him
‘They wanted to cross the line, and didn’t keep a distance of one meter,’ says a report on la Repubblica.
It is understood that a fellow customer standing near the group of young people reminded them to keep their distance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The man in question was particularly insistent because the group were not wearing masks, the report goes on to say.
‘Either wear a mask or I’ll call the police,’ he is reported to have said.
Angry faces can be discerned in this one as the youngsters and the other shoppers get into it
Before it all kicks off – there is a group of people standing close together here which could be deemed closer than appropriate given well-known social-distancing measures
This line graph shows the number of new cases per day in Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak
This line graph shows the number of deaths per day in Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak
When the group fails to do as requested a violent altercation breaks out.
The infuriated man, who is wearing a protective mask, becomes more animated, and it appears is smacked by one of the youths. The footage however is shaky.
It is reported on la Repubblica that although ‘stunned’ by the first blow, the masked man begins to fight the group, ‘beating them’.
The man who was first hit is also helped by another customer in the shop who also wanted to adhere to the social-distancing measures, the report claims.
In the footage, there is shoving and slaps exchanged on both sides, and voices of disapproval are raised by other shoppers.
It becomes particularly violent at one point, when the second man to intervene appears to thrust one of the young men against a drinks display and lands a punch on the right side of his head.
At this point, the fearful spectator filming the incident and fellow shoppers turns away.
It is understood the brawl then spilled out onto the street where it continued until police arrived to break it up.
The supermarket in question is said to be in the city of Cittadella in Naples, ‘between the district of Poggioreale and the municipality of Casoria,’ according to the report in la Repubblica.