Italian Interior Minister Links Modena Attack to Integration Issues

Italy’s interior minister said Monday that a car-ramming and stabbing attack in the northern city of Modena cannot be dismissed as an isolated act. The minister stated that the incident raises questions about integration, identity and marginalization.

Eight people were wounded, four critically, when a 31-year-old man drove into pedestrians on Saturday before crashing into a shop window. Italian authorities identified the suspect as Salim El Koudri, an Italian citizen of Moroccan descent. He attempted to flee and slightly wounded a bystander with a knife before being overpowered by passersby and detained by police.

Prosecutors arrested the suspect on charges including massacre and aggravated injury. A court ruling on whether to validate his detention was expected later Monday. The suspect had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and had shown frustration over his work and social condition, local authorities said.

The minister said the man is not suspected of a terrorist act. He pointed instead to what he described as a real and serious issue of social distress and mental health concerns. The suspect underwent treatment in 2022 for a schizoid disorder before dropping out of care.

The case has fueled political debate in Italy.

Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini referred to the suspect as a second-generation criminal in a social post and renewed calls for stricter migration measures. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani rejected that characterization, noting that the man is an Italian citizen, not a migrant.

Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti called generalizations about foreigners nonsense, noting that two Egyptian migrants were among those who helped stop the attacker. Thousands of residents gathered in Modena’s central Piazza Grande over the weekend in a show of solidarity with the victims.