A man drove his car into pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people, four seriously, officials said. They included a woman who had to have both her legs amputated.
After the car came to a halt against a shop window, the driver emerged holding a knife and injured a passer-by who gave chase, before the suspect was overpowered. The suspect, 31, has been identified by officials as an Italian national of Moroccan origin.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who cancelled a planned trip to Cyprus and described the incident as 'extremely serious', visited the injured in hospital with President Sergio Mattarella on Sunday. She also met Luca Signorelli, the passer-by who intervened, and thanked him for his actions. 'What makes an ordinary person heroic is the moment when the heart chooses to do good, even when that involves a risk,' she wrote on X, sharing an image of their embrace.
The incident occurred around 16:30 (14:30 GMT), when the speeding car hit the pedestrians in Via Emilia next to the iconic cathedral of Modena, south-east of Milan.
Signorelli had told Italian media he was trying to help the woman when he noticed the driver trying to run away. He gave chase and the attacker turned on him with a knife, injuring him before he was able to restrain the suspect, with the help of other passers-by.
At a news conference on Saturday evening, the prefect of Modena Fabrizia Triolo said the suspect had been referred to a mental health centre in 2022 for 'schizoid disorders', but had then 'disappeared without a trace'. Eyewitnesses described seeing the car speeding towards the crowd before it abruptly accelerated, with some recalling, 'We saw people flying.'
The incident raises significant concerns about public safety, with Modena's Mayor Massimo Mezzetti stating it appeared the driver 'deliberately drove onto the pavement, hitting several people before crashing into a shop window'. Five women and three men were among those injured. The suspect, identified by Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini as Salim El Koudri, is said to be an unemployed economics graduate with no prior criminal record.
After the car came to a halt against a shop window, the driver emerged holding a knife and injured a passer-by who gave chase, before the suspect was overpowered. The suspect, 31, has been identified by officials as an Italian national of Moroccan origin.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who cancelled a planned trip to Cyprus and described the incident as 'extremely serious', visited the injured in hospital with President Sergio Mattarella on Sunday. She also met Luca Signorelli, the passer-by who intervened, and thanked him for his actions. 'What makes an ordinary person heroic is the moment when the heart chooses to do good, even when that involves a risk,' she wrote on X, sharing an image of their embrace.
The incident occurred around 16:30 (14:30 GMT), when the speeding car hit the pedestrians in Via Emilia next to the iconic cathedral of Modena, south-east of Milan.
Signorelli had told Italian media he was trying to help the woman when he noticed the driver trying to run away. He gave chase and the attacker turned on him with a knife, injuring him before he was able to restrain the suspect, with the help of other passers-by.
At a news conference on Saturday evening, the prefect of Modena Fabrizia Triolo said the suspect had been referred to a mental health centre in 2022 for 'schizoid disorders', but had then 'disappeared without a trace'. Eyewitnesses described seeing the car speeding towards the crowd before it abruptly accelerated, with some recalling, 'We saw people flying.'
The incident raises significant concerns about public safety, with Modena's Mayor Massimo Mezzetti stating it appeared the driver 'deliberately drove onto the pavement, hitting several people before crashing into a shop window'. Five women and three men were among those injured. The suspect, identified by Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini as Salim El Koudri, is said to be an unemployed economics graduate with no prior criminal record.
