Driver identified after car plows into crowd injuring 8; passerby stabbed

( Fox )

A car reportedly drove into a crowd in the northern Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring at least eight people.

The vehicle slammed into a store window, and its driver, identified as Salim El Koudri, 31, allegedly stabbed a passerby who attempted to intervene.

Mayor Massimo Mezzetti told Italian TV no one was killed, but eight people were injured, including four who were in critical condition.

Mezzetti said the vehicle entered one of the city’s main streets and "drove onto the sidewalk, sending several people flying," before crashing into the shop window.

He added one woman, who was pinned against a shop window, may require the amputation of both legs.

Authorities said El Koudri was born in Bergamo and raised in Modena with Maghreb origins, is unemployed, and was known to have mental disorders. There have been no confirmed links to extremist groups.

El Koudri was detained and questioned at police headquarters as authorities worked to determine if he acted deliberately, the mayor said. There was no indication he was under the influence at the time of the wreck.

Modena Prefect Fabrizia Triolo told The Associated Press that El Koudri had "been known to local mental health services for schizoid disorders," and early findings suggested "possible mental instability."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the incident as "extremely serious" in a statement posted to X.

"I express my closeness to the injured people and their families," Meloni wrote in the post. "I also extend my thanks to the citizens who bravely intervened to stop the perpetrator and to the law enforcement agencies for their response."

Meloni said she has spoken with the mayor and remains in constant contact with the authorities to follow the developments of the situation.

"I trust that the perpetrator will be held fully accountable for his actions," she wrote.