US tourist in Rome impaled on metal spike at Colosseum
The incident, according to the Italian news outlet Day Italian News, happened at around 5 p.m. Friday, with shocked witnesses immediately calling for help.
The 47-year-old man, who has yet to be identified, reportedly took the spike to the lower back, screamed in pain and passed out, Huffpost reported.
He 'remained stuck in a painful and dramatic position' while first responders were en route, witnesses told the Italian outlet.
A general view shows people gathering at the Colosseum monument in Rome on April 7, 2023, prior to the Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) prayer service as part of celebrations of the Holy Week.(Photo by Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images)
An ambulance in Rome, Italy, seen on March 14, 2025.. (Photo by Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images)
After assessing the situation, paramedics gave the man a sedative while they worked to pull him off the spike, which took about 20 minutes, Day Italian reported. Medical personnel worked to contain the bleeding at the scene and then rushed the man to Rome's San Giovanni Hospital for emergency surgery for the deep wound.
Gunman shoots 2 people at packed California campground, turns gun on self
The man was reportedly in stable condition after the surgery, which required more than 80 stitches, though it is unclear if there was any permanent damage done to his spine.
It is unclear why the American, who currently lives in Taiwan and was visiting Italy with family and friends, climbed the fence in the first place.
Some reports suggest he was trying to take a selfie or attempting to get a better view of the world-famous tourist attraction. Or, as Day Italian News reported, 'it is assumed he simply wanted to get closer to the monument.'
Police in Rome opened an investigation into the incident and have since questioned the man.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
35 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ex-Knick Marcus Morris Sr. arrested on fraud charges
Marcus Morris Sr. was arrested on Sunday related to fraud charges while in Broward County, Florida, online booking records showed. The NBA player and ex-Knick was picked up on a felony charge of Fraud – Writing a Check with Insufficient Funds, with the report indicating he was arrested at an airport. The online record also indicated that the charge is related to a case in another state and he is being held without bond. Advertisement Other specific information surrounding the charge was not immediately available. 4 Marcus Morris Sr.'s mugshot after being arrested on fraud charges on Sunday. This is not the first time that Morris has found himself dealing with legal issues. Morris had entered a diversion program due to a battery charge in 2012 and was found not guilty of assault charges related to a 2015 basketball brawl. Advertisement Morris has played 13 seasons in the NBA from 2011 to his last appearance in the league in 2024, with time spent playing for the Rockets, Suns, Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, Clippers, 76ers, and Cavaliers. His most recent stops in the NBA had been with the 76ers and Cavaliers during the 2023-24 season. 4 Marcus Morris Sr. of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Toyota Center on December 29, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Getty Images Advertisement 4 Marcus Morris #13 of the New York Knicks scored two at AT&T Center on October 23, 2019. Getty Images Morris played one year with the Knicks during the 2019-20 season, in which he appeared in 43 games, averaging 19.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He ended up being dealt to the Clippers at the trade deadline that season in a deal that involved Moe Harkless coming to the Knicks. Morris did end up briefly back with the Knicks last season when he signed a training camp deal on Sept. 15, only to be released less than two weeks later. Advertisement 4 Marcus Morris Sr. #8 of the LA Clippers in the second half at Arena on November 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images Morris had begun appearing on ESPN's 'First Take' earlier this year. Morris had been a former first-round draft pick when he was selected in 2011. That year, the Rockets used the 14th overall pick to take Morris.
Axios
6 hours ago
- Axios
GOP leans into Trump administration's Obama accusations
Some Republican lawmakers on Sunday platformed the administration's recent claims that Obama-era officials waged a Russia-related conspiracy against President Trump — but stopped short of endorsing the president's allegations of "treason." The big picture: Trump is again bemoaning a years-long grudge against the widely held conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, following new accusations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of a " treasonous conspiracy" from former President Barack Obama to sabotage Trump's first term. The initial accusations centered around findings from the Obama-era intelligence community that Russia didn't alter vote tallies by hacking election infrastructure. But as Axios' Zachary Basu and Tal Axelrod note, no serious investigation ever claimed Russia changed them. Last week, Gabbard declassified a report from 2020 that she alleges proves the Obama administration "conspired to subvert the will of the American people" and engaged in a "years-long coup against" Trump. In a rare rebuke, a spokesperson for Obama slammed the administration's claims as "a weak attempt at distraction." Driving the news: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for an investigation into the matter Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If there is evidence of a crime being committed or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it," he said. "I think that's the best way to go." Asked by NBC's Kristen Welker whether the new controversy was an attempt to distract from the ongoing fallout from the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Graham argued he was trying to shed light on "something we didn't know before." The other side: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, slammed Gabbard as a "weapon of mass distraction" on "Fox News Sunday," arguing there was "no new information" released. "It's new to you, but all of this information has been available to the House Intelligence Committee, including in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, when all these investigations and reviews were done under the first Trump administration," Crow said, later adding that no information had been "purposefully hidden." In 2020, a Republican-led Senate panel affirmed the intelligence committee's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election and preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton. Zoom in: But Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), the chair of the House Intel Committee, slammed what he called the "Russia collusion hoax" in a "Fox News Sunday" interview, describing it as "a fraud perpetrated on the American people at the expense of President Trump." But "with regard to the claims of treason, I'll leave that to the courts to make that determination," he noted. The bottom line: As Trump launches fresh attacks against his predecessors, questions about his administration's handling of the disgraced financier's case are still rippling through Washington. The competing narratives of the ongoing Epstein fallout, over which the president has cried "hoax," and the reinvigorated anger over the Russia investigation are in many ways both rooted in Trump's vision of a "witch hunt" that's plagued his political career, Axios' Basu notes. Trump quickly seized on the Obama storyline, sharing a seemingly AI-generated video of the former president being arrested earlier this month, and more recently, an edited photo of himself pursuing Obama in a car chase.
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Heavily armored ‘Golf Force One' debuts as it trails Trump on the Scottish links less than a year after assassination attempt
President Trump's security team has debuted what appears to be a heavily armored golf cart 10 months after a would-be assassin aimed an SKS-style rifle toward him at his West Palm Beach tee resort. As the president played at the Trump Turnberry course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, this weekend, an imposing, apparently heavily fortified black vehicle followed close behind — with security experts saying it bears all the hallmarks of an armor-reinforced golf cart in the mold of Trump's official limo, a k a 'The Beast.' Trump drove a standard white golf cart as he played, but the bulky silhouette of the latest addition to his security fleet — which appears to be a modified Polaris Ranger XP — stood out like a sore thumb on the course. 7 A heavily armored golf car seen following President Trump during a round on his Trump Turnberry course in South Ayrshire, Scotland on July 26, 2025. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock 7 Trump waving from a traditional golf cart at Turnberry on July 27, 2025. AFP via Getty Images 'Just looking at the front windscreen, that looks armored,' said Gary Relf, director of Armoured Car Services, to The Telegraph. Relf said that while it's difficult to ascertain exactly which elements have been reinforced, noting companies such as his often remove and discreetly replace nearly every interior element with armor plating, the vehicle's darkened front windscreen featuring black banding is a dead giveaway that something major is afoot with it. 'From those photos, that is 100% armored,' he told the outlet. 'The windscreen is a giveaway, as are the side panels, doors and the large panel at the rear above the load tray.' He said the vehicle appeared to be kitted out for 'defensive, not offensive' purposes and claimed the tinted windows could indicate a robust transparent armor has been added. 7 According to experts, the new armored cart appears to be modeled after Trump's official limousine — known as 'The Beast.' TOLGA AKMEN/EPA/Shutterstock 7 The new special golf cart comes after an assassination attempt from suspect Ryan Routh last September on one of Trump's golf courses in Florida. Getty Images 'The thicker the transparent armoring, the more tinted the window looks,' he said. Relf said it was likely the modifications would likely be designed to keep the vehicle as secure as possible while remaining lightweight enough to avoid damaging grass on the course. A Secret Service spokesman wouldn't confirm or deny whether the cart is armored or part of Trump's security apparatus, telling the outlet that the agency doesn't discuss the specific means and methods it deploys to protect the president. 7 Police snipers positioned on the roof of the Trump Turnberry hotel on July 27, 2025. Photo by7 A sniper on the Turnberry course near other golfers. AFP via Getty Images But stepped-up hardware to protect Trump on the golf course would not be unexpected given his surviving a pair of assassination attempts last year. On Sept. 15, Ryan Routh, 59, trained a rifle styled after a Soviet-designed semiautomatic at Trump's security detail as the president walked along the fifth hole at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida. Agents spotted Routh during a sweep of the sixth hole, where the suspect had obscured his location in heavy brush some 400 yards from the president, and fired a shot at him, at which point he ditched his weapon and fled in a Nissan SUV. 7 Trump taking a swing during his Sunday golf round. Getty Images Less than an hour later, Routh was apprehended during a traffic stop and charged with the attempted assassination of Trump. Two months earlier, Trump survived another assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., carried out by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks perched on the rooftop of a building just outside the Butler fairgrounds and opened fire with an AR-style rifle, nicking Trump's ear, seriously wounding an audience member and killing former firefighter Corey Comperatore. Crooks was taken out by a counter-sniper team moments after firing.
