Italian leaders visit Modena after car-ramming attack
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella traveled to the northern city of Modena after several people were injured in a car crash, the first of its kind in the country.
Salim El Koudri, 31, born in Italy and of Moroccan origin, drove a car into a crowd in the city center on Saturday, injuring eight people, four of them seriously.
While trying to escape, the man stabbed one of the three people passing by and trying to stop him.
He was later arrested by the police.
Modena prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday that the suspect was under investigation for attempted murder and wounding.
Authorities said the man struck pedestrians “in an indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner” in the busy city center of more than 180,000 residents.
Prosecutors stated that two of the seriously injured people lost their legs, and one was in life-threatening condition.
Government sources said that Meloni canceled his meeting with the Cypriot president in Nicosia in order to go to Modena with Mattarella and asked that his name not be disclosed.
Attacks using vehicles into crowds have become increasingly common around the world.
Some were listed as terrorist attacks.
Italian prosecutors said only that they were trying to determine El Koudri’s motives.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant League party, shared a post on Sunday calling for the cancellation of the residence permits of those who committed crimes in X.
Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti said that two Egyptian citizens were among those who tried to stop El Koudri, who was trying to escape.
Speaking to broadcaster RaiNews24, he also said that El Koudri had received treatment for mental health problems in the past.
He also said that he had a degree in economics and was unemployed.
Prosecutors have not confirmed those details.
They also could not be reached to confirm the reports that a Polish woman and a German woman were among the injured.
