The reign of terror by Rome’s so-called "microcar gang" has come to an end following the arrest of two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, from the Testaccio and Monteverde neighborhoods. The pair confessed during questioning to a series of six violent assaults carried out overnight on October 4–5. Among their victims is well-known Italian actor Davide Iacopini, who remains hospitalized in critical condition at Rome's San Camillo Hospital.

"We just did it for fun," the teens callously admitted to investigators. Their modus operandi was brutally simple: they would pull alongside pedestrians, cyclists, and electric scooter riders in a customized mini-car, striking them with kicks, shoves, or plastic pipes through the window before speeding away with their license plate concealed.

A joint investigation by the Carabinieri and local police quickly cornered the pair. While the 17-year-old driver (the son of a Carabinieri officer) and his 16-year-old accomplice (already known to police for past thefts) tried to mask their tracks, telltale details gave them away. The microcar had been heavily customized with LED lighting, a red light illuminating the rear plate, and striking cobra-shaped decals. A local mechanic recognized the logo of his own auto shop printed on one of the stickers, directly linking the vehicle to the suspects.

The net tightened further when authorities recovered the microcar parked outside the 17-year-old's home—shattering their initial false claim that the vehicle had been stolen. Physical evidence left at the scene, including a dropped cap and location-tracking data from a mobile app, sealed the case.