At least seven people have been injured after a car hit several pedestrians in the city center of Modena, northern Italy, police said.
The driver has been identified as a man in his 30s who has already been arrested. According to Italian media, the vehicle crashed into the window of a store.
“We need to understand the nature of the event, but it is a tragic act. I am deeply shocked. Whatever its nature, it is a very serious event. If it were an attack, it would be even more serious,” said the mayor of Modena, Massimo Mezzetti, who went to the scene immediately after the event.
A woman in critical condition
Among the injured there are four who are in very serious condition, especially a woman in critical condition who was run over. “Her legs are destroyed and she will probably have to have both legs amputated.”
His legs are destroyed
The city councilor of the Emilia Romagna region said he did not know the identity of the driver, although he explained that some witnesses had assured him that he was of North African origin. “It is unknown whether he was driving under the influence of drugs or whether he acted deliberately. He is currently at the police station being questioned.”
The person who arrested him details that he chased him along with four or five other people and that, after disappearing behind some cars, he reappeared with a knife in his hand and attacked him, causing him some injuries, although none of them were serious.
Several witnesses point to an intentional act
Other witnesses rule out that it is an accident and point to a voluntary gesture, since the vehicle was going more than 100 kilometers per hour.
The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, is following with the utmost attention what happened in Modena and remains in constant contact with the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, and with the Undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in charge of the security of the Republic, Alfredo Mantovano. “What happened today is very serious. I express my closeness to the injured people and their families (…) I have spoken with the mayor and I remain in constant contact with the authorities to follow the evolution of the matter,” the Italian president said on her social networks.
