Italian thief grateful to cops for rescuing him from "massacre!!!"

An Italian thief thanked police officers for arresting him and putting an end to a beating from Korean tourists whom he had robbed in Rome, police say. 

"I must thank you; they were massacring me," the 48-year-old criminal told police on Monday after he was arrested near the Theatre of Marcellus, one of the monuments in Rome's historic centre. 

The thief, from the northern region of Liguria, stole a handbag from a Korean family when they were not paying attention. He threatened the family with a knife when he was spotted and then tried to flee. More...

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