Italy’s head of government speaks out
Bus driver dies in attack on basketball fans
October 20, 2025 – 11:21 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
A bus with around 50 sports fans in Italy is heading home after an away game. Suddenly bricks and other objects are thrown against the windshield. A man dies.
A bus driver was killed in an attack on basketball fans in Italy. According to consistent media reports, unknown people hurled stones and other objects at the front window of a bus on Sunday evening. He drove supporters of the second division team Pistoia Basket home after an away game in Rieti. A brick broke through the glass and hit a man sitting in the front next to the driver. This was the second bus driver who died on the spot.
According to initial findings, the bus was initially accompanied by a police escort after the game in Rieti, not far from Rome. When the police officers left the bus, the attack took place on a state highway. The rescue workers who were called were unable to save the man who had been hit by the brick.
An object also hit the driver’s side during the attack, but did not penetrate the window at that point. This may have prevented an even greater disaster. According to reports, there were around 50 basketball fans on the bus who were not physically injured.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned the “insane” attack and spoke on the X platform of “news that leaves you speechless.” Her sports minister Andrea Abodi also wrote on
Around a dozen fans of Real Sebastiani Rieti’s home team were questioned by police after the incident, the Ansa news agency reported. According to previous investigations, the attackers hid in the ditch and threw the objects from there. The occupants of the bus were also interviewed as witnesses. Only then could they continue the journey home to Pistoia in Tuscany with other vehicles.