«I felt observed; that man looked at me. I understood: I would be his next victim.” It’s around 2pm and the subway station Valle Aurelia it is crowded with people. What attracts the attention of those present is a woman who realizes that she has been robbed: her wallet has disappeared.
The pickpocket is still nearby and the lady recognizes him immediately. “It wasn’t difficult to understand who he was” she explains only later. «How did I identify him? He was following me.”
Loudly, the woman begs for help from the other passengers: Andrea intervenes. Without hesitation, he stops the suspect and forces him to empty his pockets. Yet, there is no trace of the wallet. «There was a passing of the baton. There were two of them, they collaborated”, explains the boy and the confirmation did not take long to arrive.
While the alleged thief tries in every way to leave – in vain, as he is surrounded and therefore hindered by the crowd of onlookers – a second man takes over: he promptly informs the victim that he has found his wallet. In fact, he tells her that he saw him lying on the stairs. But it doesn’t end here.
He blames those present: in his opinion, they put too much pressure on his friend and, according to what was reported by the witnesses, he blames the woman, minimizing the incident and accusing her of having been “careless”. “It probably just slipped out of the bag and she didn’t notice,” the man speculates. Yet, there is no money inside the wallet: “I had withdrawn just that morning, 100 euros to be precise” explains the victim. “Neither cash nor my credit cards were present.” Luck, however, works to the advantage of the two pickpockets, who manage to escape with the lady’s money by immediately getting on the subway. «Not only do they steal our personal effects but they also take us for a ride!», says Andrea, deeply saddened: «They are unscrupulous!».
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