Meloni cancels meetings to visit Modena after car-ramming attack

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella travelled to the northern city of Modena on ​Sunday, a day after eight people were injured in a car-ramming attack. 

Salim El Koudri, a 31-year-old man, born in Italy and of Moroccan origin, drove into a crowd in the city centre on ​Saturday, leaving four seriously injured.

He tried to flee ​and stabbed one of three passersby who attempted to stop him, and was later arrested by police.

The suspect is under investigation for attempted massacre and personal injury, Modena's prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday, as they seek to establish his motives.

No links to extremist groups have emerged in the investigation.

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The prosecutors said the driver hit pedestrians in the crowded city centre, which has more than 180,000 residents, in an "indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner".

Massimo Mezzetti, the mayor of Modena, said on Saturday that the vehicle entered one of the city's main streets and the man "drove onto the sidewalk, sending several people flying", before crashing into a shop window.

The scene was cordoned off as ambulances treated victims in the street.

Victims were taken to hospitals in Modena and Bologna, with the most critical cases transported by helicopter.

Among those seriously injured, two lost their legs and one was in a ​life-threatening condition, the prosecutors added.

Ms Meloni cancelled a meeting in Nicosia with Cyprus' president to travel to Modena alongside Mr Mattarella on Sunday, government sources said, asking not to be named.

The city's mayor said Mr El Koudri had been treated for mental health issues in the past.

He also said he held a ⁠degree in ​economics and was unemployed. Prosecutors have not confirmed ​these details.

Investigators said at a press conference on Saturday evening there was no immediate indication the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His home was searched as part of the investigation.

Ms Meloni expressed her "solidarity" with those who were injured and ​their families on the day of the attack.

"What happened in Modena is extremely serious. I trust the person responsible will be held fully accountable for his actions," she said in a post on X.

(c) Sky News 2026: Meloni cancels meetings to visit Modena after car-ramming attack