Police identify suspect in relation to Rome murder.

Rome police have launched an investigation into the murder of a member of the Italian army who died on Sunday almost two days after being assaulted on a street in Rome.

Danilo Salvatore Lucente Pipitone, 44, was attacked in the Centocelle suburb during the night between Friday and Saturday.

The Sicilian non-commissioned officer, who served as a health worker at the Celio military hospital in Rome, was found unconscious with a serious wound on the back of his neck.

Il #CapoSMD Ammiraglio Giuseppe #CavoDragone, appresa la triste notizia della scomparsa del 1° Grd Danilo Salvatore Lucente Pipitone esprime ai familiari del militare e all'#Esercito profondo cordoglio a nome delle #ForzeArmate e suo personale#UnaForzaperilPaese pic.twitter.com/msGzFopA9d

— Forze Armate StatoMaggioreDifesa (@SM_Difesa) February 13, 2023

A witness saw a man flee from Via dei Sesami at around 02.00 on Friday night, shortly before the victim was found on the ground next to his parked car, reports Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Italian media reported on Monday that police had identified a suspect in relation to the murder: a 33-year-old Tunisian man with a history of drug dealing.

Ci stringiamo al dolore della famiglia e di tutto l’Esercito per la tragica scomparsa del Caporal Maggiore Danilo Salvatore Lucente Pipitone. Ci auguriamo che le
indagini in corso possano al più presto individuare chi ha causato la sua morte.— Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) February 12, 2023

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri joined Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi and defence minister Guido Crosetto in offering condolences to the victim's family and to the army.

The killing comes amid renewed focus on the safety of Rome's streets after a man was left in a critical condition last week after being robbed and stabbed outside the central Termini station.