Attack took place in Modena, northern Italy, on Saturday. Mayor and Prime Minister thank the four people who intervened to detain the suspect. A woman was left without both legs from the force of the impact. There are two people in “extremely serious” condition in hospital and two foreigners among the injured
Shortly after a car plowed into a crowd of pedestrians in Modena, Italy, on Saturday, four Italian civilians intervened to immobilize the driver, knocking him to the ground, the city’s mayor reported.
“The madman, I don’t know what to call him, the criminal who committed this act, came out of the car with a knife at the ready,” Massimo Mezzetti told state news agency RAI. “Four citizens, whom I thank, captured him and handed him over to the authorities.”
In opening statements, Mezzetti says the car plowed into a crowd on Via Emilia, a busy street in the center of the city of Modena, in northern Italy. Several pedestrians suffered serious injuries, the mayor added, including a woman whose legs were amputated after being hit head-on by the car.
At a press conference, another city hall official, Fabrizio Triolo, told reporters that a total of seven people were injured by the car. A third person told Reuters she was injured after the driver allegedly attacked her with a knife. Authorities said two tourists, one from Germany and the other from Poland, were among those injured in the collision.
Lesley De Pietri, director of the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit at Baggiovara Civil Hospital, said two of the victims were in an “extremely serious condition” and remained hospitalized.
Triollo says the man suspected of carrying out the attack was born in 1995, has a degree in business administration and is currently unemployed.
The official added that, in 2022, the alleged attacker was referred to a mental health center for people with schizoid (personality) disorders, but that the authorities lost contact with him after an initial period of observation.
At the time of his arrest, the suspect was not under the influence of psychotropic substances, meaning he appeared lucid,” Triollo said. “The investigation scenario is obviously evolving and we cannot provide further information on the matter.”
“I want to thank these citizens,” Mezzetti said of the four people who detained the suspect. “The man was also armed with a knife; they demonstrated courage and great civic sense. My deepest thanks to them at this dramatic moment.”
When praising the four, the mayor also said that, when they knocked the suspect to the ground, one of them was slightly injured by the knife. Luca Signorelli told Reuters he was helping a woman who had been seriously injured by the car when the driver tried to flee.
“I chased him,” Signorelli said, adding that several other people followed him to help. “He disappeared behind a row of cars and then suddenly reappeared with a knife in his hands.”
“A fight started,” said Signorelli. “I was stabbed twice, once in the heart and once in the head. I managed to dodge one of the blows and, during the other, I grabbed his wrist and blocked it.”
Other eyewitnesses told Reuters that the woman who was run over was pressed against a store window and that her legs were “amputated” by the force of the impact.
“He crushed her against the window,” reported a witness.
The mayor of Modena told RAI that the man is being questioned at the local police station and that authorities will provide more information later.
The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, said in a statement on social media that he is in contact with the Italian Interior Minister “to obtain more details” and thanked the police forces for arresting the suspect.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the incident as “extremely serious” in a message on social media.
“I express my solidarity with the injured people and their families,” Meloni wrote. “I also thank the citizens who courageously intervened to stop the attacker and the police forces for their actions.”
“I spoke with the mayor and remain in constant contact with the authorities to monitor the development of the situation”, continued the head of government. “I trust that the perpetrator of the crime will be held fully responsible for his actions.”
