Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella have visited victims of car-ramming and stabbing attacks on the main shopping street of the northern city of Modena.
At about 4:30pm local time (14:30 GMT) on Saturday, a 31-year-old man identified as Salim El Koudri drove at high speed through the city centre, hitting more than a dozen people.
The attacker also stabbed a pedestrian before being stopped by a group of passers-by. Eight people were taken to hospital in serious condition, the ANSA state news agency reported.
Two women aged 55 and 69 had their legs amputated, and one of them remains in a life-threatening condition, read a statement released on Sunday by the city prosecutor’s office. The prosecutors added that the attack was carried out “in an indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner”.
The Italian leaders did not release statements following their visits on Sunday to two hospitals where the injured are being treated. The previous day, Meloni called the attack “extremely serious” and thanked the residents who “courageously intervened to stop the perpetrator, and to the police for their intervention”.
El Koudri was born in the northern province of Bergamo to a family originally from Morocco, according to ANSA.
Context: The article covers a violent attack in Modena, Italy, where a 31-year-old man rammed into pedestrians and stabbed a pedestrian.
Fact Check: The article mentions that Italian leaders visited victims of the attack and also highlights the seriousness of the incident.
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