Driver previously treated for psychiatric disorders, arrested as pedestrians stopped his escape
Police work at the scene after several people were injured when a car drove into pedestrians in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, on May 16, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
A man drove a car into a crowd in the northern Italian city of Modena, injuring at least eight people, four of whom are in serious condition, police said.
The driver – a 30-year-old born in Bergamo and of North African origin, who had moved to the province that includes Modena – attempted to flee after the car crashed into a shop window, Modena’s mayor told broadcaster RaiNews24.
The fleeing driver was stopped by some pedestrians, one of whom he attacked with a knife and slightly injured. The driver was later arrested by police.
Read: UK man appears in court over stabbing of Muslim man, two Jewish men in London
The driver was receiving treatment for psychiatric disorders, a source in the Interior Ministry said, without elaborating on the man’s motivations or whether terrorism was a factor.
Among the injured, four were in serious condition and two were airlifted to a hospital in Bologna, around 40 kilometers from Modena, the city’s mayor, Massimo Mezzetti, told RaiNews24.
Mayor describes deliberate attack
“It seems (the driver) deliberately drove onto the sidewalk, hitting several people,” Mezzetti said.
The man who was stabbed by the driver told RaiNews24 he heard people falling and threw himself to the ground as the car approached. He said the driver appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Authorities have not confirmed this.
“I express my solidarity with those who were injured and their families,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted on social media platform X.
Quanto accaduto oggi a Modena, dove un uomo ha investito diversi pedoni e poi avrebbe accoltellato un passante, è gravissimo.
Esprimo la mia vicinanza alle persone ferite e alle loro famiglie. Rivolgo anche un ringraziamento ai cittadini che con coraggio sono intervenuti per…— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 16, 2026
“What happened in Modena is extremely serious. I trust the person responsible will be held fully accountable for his actions,” she added.
Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant League Party, also posted on X, highlighting the driver’s North African origins and calling him a “second-generation criminal.”
Salim El Koudri.
Questo il nome del criminale “di seconda generazione” che oggi a Modena ha falciato, con la sua auto a folle velocità, dei passanti.
Fermato da coraggiosi cittadini nonostante avesse un coltello, è stato arrestato.
Leggo che avrebbe agito con rancore perché “si… pic.twitter.com/mxxMAos6Sf— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) May 16, 2026
Italy PM Meloni heads to Modena
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to Modena on Sunday, a day after several people were injured in a car-ramming incident there, cancelling a meeting in Nicosia with Cyprus’ president in order to make the trip, government sources said.
Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella will also travel to the Italian northern city, the sources added.
Modena’s prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday that the suspect is under investigation for massacre and personal injury, adding that efforts are under way to establish the motive behind his actions.
Read More: 2 killed as car ploughs into crowd in Germany
They said the man struck pedestrians in the crowded city centre, which has more than 180,000 residents, “in an indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner”.
“The man had received treatment for mental health issues in 2022 due to schizoid personality disorder, after which he went off the radar,” Mezzetti told RaiNews24 late on Saturday.
Among those seriously injured, two had suffered the loss of their legs, with one in a life-threatening condition, the prosecutors added.
