A person who drove into pedestrians within the Italian city of Modena was known to have mental disorders.
Salim El Koudri, 31, rammed into crowds within the centre of town in Emilia Romagna, injuring eight people, including 4 critically.
Two of the victims lost their legs and one, a 55-year-old woman is claimed to be in a life-threatening condition at a hospital in Bologna.
After leaving his vehicle, El Koudri stabbed a pedestrian, Luca Signorelli, who tried to stop him fleeing the scene.
A 27-year-old woman, a 71-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man are all currently at Modena’s polyclinic with non-serious injuries.
In a press release today, prosecutors said he had struck passers-by ‘in an indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner’.
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Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly cancelled a gathering with the Cypriot president in Nicosia to affix president Sergio Mattarella on a visit to Modena on Sunday.
She wrote on X: ‘I express my solidarity with those that were injured and their families.
‘What happened in Modena is incredibly serious. I trust the person responsible will probably be held fully accountable for his actions.’
Modena’s mayor Massimo Mezzetti suggested that El Koudri had a history of mental instability but insisted it was too early to attract conclusions.
Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-immigrant League party, highlighted El Koudri’s Moroccan heritage and called for migrants who commit crimes to have their resident permits revoked.
Dramatic footage showed the moment El Koudri rocketed down the road in a silver automobile, before mounting the pavement and damaging a row of shop awnings.
A witness told Corriere della Sera: ‘He was going incredibly fast, definitely over 100 miles per hour.’
Mr Signorelli said that El Koudri was behaving as if inebriated or drugs before the attacker stabbed him, nonetheless police confirmed the 31-year-old had tested negative for each.
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