Over a week since 35-year-old Italian police officer Mario Cerciello-Rega was fatally stabbed in Rome, the parents of suspect Finn Elder are ready to talk, and they say their son is "remorseful and scared."

The parents of Elder, one of the families of the two Bay Area teens suspected in the murder of the aforementioned Italian police officer, have just issued a statement upon their arrival back in the US, outside their San Francisco home.

“We saw our son Finnegan, he was okay,” said Ethan Elder in an almost three-minute-long publicized statement about the incident. “[Our son is] tired, remorseful and scared. He has our full support, and we stand by his side [...] We look forward to the truth coming out and to our son coming home,” he adds.

The statement comes after the couple also appeared on Italian television on Tuesday.

Per Italian prosecutors, via the Associated Press (AP), “Fin” Elder slayed undercover Italian Officer Mario Rega, stabbing him 11 times with a knife; the murder weapon was later found tucked-away inside the ceiling of the boys’ shared hotel by law enforcement.

The deadly altercation began when Rega and a fellow officer approached the two boys, asking for a stolen bag they had taken from a suspected cocaine dealer. It was then that the situation took a turn for the worst, with Elder stabbing Rega in lieu of forking-over the backpack; Gabe Natale-Hjorth is only cited in reports as "punching" Rega's partner.

"We grieve for the family of the officer," an emotional Leah Elder, mother of the 19-year-old, said in the same public announcement, reading off a physical transcript. "We are just heartbroken at the loss of life," she finished.

Leah Elder also indicated the trip was a "last-minute" idea, and that the family was "awaiting further news,” refusing to comment any more on the current situation.

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