Over the past two years, a picture of youth violence and the systematic use of minors in Camorra contexts has emerged in the Naples area, with a close sequence of murders of young people between the ages of 15 and 20, often linked to drug dealing, settling scores, and the easy availability of weapons.
The overall number of Camorra-related murders is lower than in the past, but the percentage involving very young people (both as victims and perpetrators) is alarming and is being described by investigators and analysts as a true "youth massacre." Since the summer of 2023, from the murder of the innocent Giogiò Cutolo to that of Marco Pio Salomone two days ago, as many as 10 very young people have fallen on the streets of Naples and its province.
The picture that emerges from a rereading of the news stories is that of a city where youth violence has taken on increasingly organized and "military" forms: minors used as perpetrators or protagonists in feuds for control of drug dealing, reduced to the roles of killers or "human shields" in firefights.
The investigations and arrests carried out in 2025 indicate a return of structured groups (such as the Sequino clan from the Sanità district for the murder of Emanuele Tufano) who recruit and use minors — the so-called “baby war”.
And precisely by analyzing the ease of access to weapons, group dynamics, and contested territory, we arrive at a dramatic result: more deaths among young people.
Youth Murders in Naples 2023-2025
Over the past two years (from 2023 to the second half of 2025), a series of murders and ambushes targeting young people between the ages of 15 and 24 has been recorded, both in the capital and in the surrounding hinterland. Figures for 2023 show 16 homicides in the entire province of Naples (10 in the city), while in 2024, 13 homicides and 49 gunshot wounds involving Camorra-related groups were recorded in the province, with 9 homicides in the municipality of Naples alone.
Among the most significant cases in terms of age of the victims and recurring dynamics in the last two years are:
Gennaro Ramondino, approximately 20 years old, shot dead on September 1, 2024, in the Pianura neighborhood, in a context related to drug dealing, with the killer listed as a minor; the body was found with gunshot wounds and partially charred.
Emanuel Tufano, 15 years old, killed on October 24, 2024, in the historic center (Carminiello al Mercato area) during a shootout between groups of youths, involving at least twenty young people, many of them minors; he was shot in the back while fleeing on a motorbike.
Holy Roman, 19, killed on November 2, 2024, in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio after an argument over a trivial matter (a valuable shoe stained with dirt); the shooter was reportedly a 17-year-old from the Barra neighborhood.
Archangel Correra, 18, with no criminal record, killed in central Naples on November 9, 2024, by a shot to the head fired by a peer who claimed to have "shot for fun." The incident highlights the unscrupulous use of weapons by young men without a real mafia mandate.
Emanuel During, 20 years old, killed on March 15, 2025, in a war between groups of young Camorristi also linked to the murder of Tufano, according to the investigative reconstruction that led to a large-scale operation with multiple arrests.
Davide Carbisiero, 19 years old — killed in a slot machine parlor in Cesa (Caserta province), April 2025; a 17-year-old is under investigation.
Pasquale Nappo, 18 years old killed in Piazza Pace in Boscoreale on the night of November 2, 2025. The following day the two murderers turned themselves in
Marco Pio (Pio Marco) Solomon, 19, killed on the night between November 21 and 22, 2025, at the Arenaccia (Naples) with a gunshot to the head while riding in a car with friends; the incident was thought to be an ambush, with investigative hypotheses ranging from drug-related issues to conflicts with a rival gang.
These episodes are part of a wider trend that began in 2023, the year in which innocent young people such as Francesco Pio Maimone (18 years old, killed in Mergellina after an argument over a designer shoe) and Giovanbattista Cutolo (24-year-old, killed in downtown Naples after an argument), cases that show how trivial conflicts degenerate into shootings in crowded settings.
These names represent only a fraction of the young victims; there are other young people in their early 20s killed in ambushes or armed conflicts.
Anti-mafia investigations and law enforcement operations over the past two years have highlighted the systematic use of minors by mafia clans and a marked increase in crimes committed by under-18s in the Naples area.
In the Naples judicial district, a 17% increase in juvenile crimes was recorded in 2023, and between the summers of 2023 and 2024, over 400 cases were opened for possession of weapons (bladed and improper) and more than 60 for possession of firearms against minors, with an overall doubling of precautionary measures against juveniles.
Investigations and criminal contexts
The investigation linking the murders of Emanuele Tufano (15 years old) and Emanuele Durante (20 years old) has led to the issuance of 16 precautionary custody orders, including 6 against minors, believed to have participated in various capacities in the two crimes, amid a conflict between youth groups for control of drug dealing.
In 2024-2025, several incidents involved minors as alleged perpetrators: the Ramondino case in Pianura, attributed to a minor involved in the drug dealing network; that of Santo Romano, killed by a 17-year-old from Barra; the arrest of a 14-year-old for a gunshot attack in northern Naples (a 20-year-old was shot in the abdomen), part of a clash between clans; and the use of armed teenagers as "muschilli" in the management of drug dealing centers and settling scores.
Broader anti-mafia operations in the Naples area document the presence of young people and very young people in structured clans, with roles ranging from armed labor to drug dealing and murder, consistent with experiences such as the Sibillo "children's gang" (although predating the two-year period under consideration, but cited by investigators as a model).
In quantitative terms, the published judicial investigations indicate at least several dozen minors involved in serious crimes (from gang membership to murder and attempted murder) between 2023 and 2025 in the Naples area, with the cases of Tufano-Durante and the shootings of late 2024 constituting the most visible core of the phenomenon.
The young innocent victims
Alongside young people involved—permanently or marginally—in criminal networks, the last two years have seen a significant number of young victims considered unrelated or only tangentially connected to the Camorra, targeted as occasional victims or in contexts of "trivial" violence. These cases are crucial to understanding the spread of weapons and the fragility of the boundary between organized crime and everyday life in working-class neighborhoods.
Several people (including minors) were injured by stray shots during Camorra ambushes in neighborhoods such as Fuorigrotta and the Spanish Quarters in 2024, including cases of passers-by shot while in public spaces (playgrounds, shopping streets), an incident that DI A analyses indicate as a sign of risk to the public.
These incidents add to a long trail of young people killed or injured in situations not based on clan affiliation, but in a city where the circulation of weapons and social fragility make any conflict potentially lethal. Social workers and associations recall how some of these young people came from vulnerable families, with a history of school dropouts, a lack of educational opportunities, and structured free time—conditions that facilitate their exposure to both victimhood and perpetratorship.
Analyses by the Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate and observers such as anti-mafia associations, juvenile magistrates, and scholars converge on one point: Naples is experiencing a phase in which the Camorra is "enlisting" increasingly younger youths, while the state is primarily focusing its response on criminal repression.
The clans exploit the lower risk of sanctions for under-18s, arming them and pushing them to manage drug dealing and violent acts in working-class neighborhoods, in a sort of criminal "apprenticeship" that normalizes guns and ambushes.
At the same time, social indicators show:
Youth unemployment stands at around 40-45% in the metropolitan area, with record levels of school dropouts; between 2023 and 2024, thousands of students will be chronically absent, and the Naples area ranks at the bottom of the list in Italy for literacy and numeracy skills.
Lack of accessible cultural and sports facilities in working-class neighborhoods, with associations and social centers trying to fill the gap with after-school programs, workshops, and sports activities, emphasizing that without these facilities, many young people end up in crime.
In this scenario, every new murder of a young person—like that of Marco Pio Salomone or the three boys killed in 17 days between October and November 2024—is interpreted by institutions as a public order emergency, but by social actors as a sign of a structural crisis: widespread weapons, a Camorra targeting minors, and insufficient prevention policies.
(In the photo, the ten young people killed from 2023 to today: from top left Giovan Battista Cutolo, Francesco Pio Maimone, Santo Romano, Emanuele Tufano and Arcangelo Correra; at the bottom, also from left Emanuele Durante, Gennaro Ramondino, Davide Corbisiero, Pasquale Nappo and Marco Pio Salomone)
Comments (1)
It's truly sad to see how young people in Naples are involved in situations of violence and crime; the data is worrying. Greater attention from institutions is needed to help these young people and prevent their involvement in these dangerous situations.