A driver ploughed a car into pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people, four of them seriously, in what local officials suggested may have been a deliberate attack.
The incident took place at around 4:30 p.m. in the city centre, when the vehicle mounted the pavement and struck several people before crashing into a shop window. Witnesses described scenes of panic as the car accelerated toward crowds at high speed.
“We saw the car approaching, it was heading for the curb,” one eyewitness told Italian media. “It suddenly accelerated — it was going at least 100 km/h. We saw people flying.”
Among the injured was a woman reportedly left with both legs crushed. Emergency services rushed multiple victims to hospital, while bystanders chased and detained the driver before handing him over to police.
Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti said initial evidence suggested the driver had “deliberately driven onto the pavement, hitting several people.” He added that the suspect then emerged from the vehicle brandishing a knife before being subdued by passers-by. One man suffered minor injuries while attempting to stop him.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the incident as “extremely serious,” while Mezzetti warned that it would be “even more serious” if investigators confirmed premeditation.
Authorities identified the suspect as an Italian national born in Bergamo and living in the Modena area. The mayor said he was “of Maghreb origins.” Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini later named the suspect on social media as Salim El Koudri.
Police have not yet confirmed a motive, and counterterrorism investigators are understood to be examining the circumstances surrounding the attack.
