Water taxis and boats make their way across the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, in 2018. An unidentified U.S. airman is part of an investigation after a stabbing outside a Venice nightclub Sept. 8, 2024. (Valerie Halbert/U.S. Air Force)
A U.S. airman is under investigation after a weekend stabbing outside a Venice nightclub left a young man hospitalized in serious condition, according to an Air Force spokesperson.
Italian news reports and law enforcement authorities did not identify the airman or the other man arrested in the stabbing, which happened around 4:45 a.m. Sunday in the Palmavira nightclub parking lot.
Staff Sgt. Heather Ley, a spokesperson for the 31st Fighter Wing based in Aviano, declined to say Tuesday whether the airman is still in police custody. Ley also did not provide any additional details, including the airman’s duty station or unit.
The victim was pulling a prank and got into a car that wasn’t his, according to the Italian news agency Ansa. The airman and another man were in the car, Ansa reported.
The prankster was then stabbed in the back with a knife, according to police reports cited by Ansa.
It remains unclear who is accused of using the knife, and no charges have been announced. The prosecutor’s office opened an attempted murder investigation, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
The prosecutor could not be reached for comment, and the medical examiner declined to comment on Monday.
The victim had at least three serious lacerations and underwent emergency surgery Sunday, according to Corriere della Sera. The hospital did not respond to requests for comment.
An employee at Palmariva, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized by his employer to speak, said the victim’s girlfriend ran back into the nightclub for help.
“We saw two guys, an American guy and another guy, go out of the parking (lot). We called the carabinieri and the ambulance,” the employee said.
The two men were arrested shortly afterward, according to the employee.
Ley said the Air Force is cooperating fully with Italian law enforcement.
