Italy’s leaders visit victims of Modena car-ramming, stabbing attacks

The attacks carried out by 31-year-old Salim El Khoudri appear related ‘to a situation of psychiatric distress’, according to Italy’s interior minister.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.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Assailant dead after vehicle ramming, gunfire at Michigan synagogue in USlist 2 of 3Michigan synagogue and Virginia university shootings: What we knowlist 3 of 3Car-ramming incident kills at least two people in Germanyend of listThe 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.‘psychiatric distress’Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that while the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack is ongoing, the incident appears related “to a situation of psychiatric distress”.