A serious incident has shocked the Albanian community in Italy. Around noon on February 22, the body of 20-year-old Riccardo Merkuri was found, who the day before had been thrown into the waters of the port of Civitanova Marche. According to authorities, everything happened after a serious episode of violence in the family's apartment, where the 20-year-old had brutally assaulted his mother Albana Kastrioti, punching her in the face. As a result of the violence, the 53-year-old suffered a fractured jaw and was found lying on the floor, bleeding and unconscious, after screams that alerted neighbors around 21:00 p.m.
At the time of the incident, her husband, Mario Merkuri, was outside the apartment. After the attack, the young man left in his vehicle, leaving his mobile phone at home, and headed for Civitanova Marche. The vehicle was found near the entrance to the port. Security camera footage initially filmed him at the entrance to the port and then at the moment he jumped into the sea. Another recording shows him resurfacing and jumping again, without reappearing. The search operation was carried out by firefighters, Teramo rescuers, the Coast Guard and the Carabinieri. The body was found a day later.
Currently, Albana Kastriot is hospitalized in Macerata in serious condition, under intensive care. The family, of Albanian origin and for more than 20 years in Italy, is well known in the Pollença community. The family's friend speaks about this serious event in the studio of the show "Zemër të Hapur", who recounts the details and the serious condition of the mother. She said that for the moderator and author of the show Evis Ahmeti she showed that the mother does not know anything about the tragic fate of her son, as he is in a coma.
“We were all at the funeral. The church was packed and the atmosphere was very heavy. I stood next to the girl for hours, as she cried non-stop. My friend is still in a coma after a surgery. She doesn’t know that her son is no longer alive, she has two sons… We still don’t know exactly what happened. At the time of the incident, it was just her and her son. When you have children, nothing is guaranteed; life can change in an instant. Maybe it was an incident, maybe something unexpected, no one knows for sure. When the family learned that Riccardo had left home and the police had found the car at the port, a group of young people immediately went there in the hope of finding him. They thought he might have been hiding somewhere. Security camera footage showed that he had jumped into the water, not once, but twice. News spread in the media that he had been violent, but this is not true. His ex-girlfriend spoke in church with great respect and kind words good for him. They had had a two-year relationship, with the usual difficulties that youth brings.
We need to talk more with young people, stand by them and listen carefully. Not wait for the last moment, when the tragedy has already happened. We all have a responsibility, even in the way we judge and how we speak. Let's not get to the point where we get massacred!", the family friend concludes her story.
