Massimo Mezzetti on Facebook, May 17, 2026
Italy’s government has warned against dismissing the Modena car-ramming attack as merely the act of a disturbed individual, as the case reignites fierce political debate over immigration, integration, and public security.
Eight people were injured on Saturday after a driver at high speed ploughed his car into pedestrians and cyclists in the centre of the northern Italian city of Modena. Four victims remain in serious condition, including a woman who had to have both of her legs amputated.
The suspect, 31-year-old Salim El Koudri, an Italian citizen of Moroccan origin born in Bergamo, attempted to flee the scene before stabbing a passer-by who tried to stop him. He was eventually overpowered by members of the public and arrested.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said investigators had so far found no evidence of links to organised Islamist networks or terrorist groups. However, he insisted it would be wrong to portray the attack simply as the isolated actions of a mentally ill man.
In an interview with the newspaper Il Giornale, Piantedosi said El Koudri had previously been diagnosed with a schizoid personality disorder and had expressed “resentment and dissatisfaction” with his social and professional situation.
Authorities are also examining anti-Christian emails sent by the suspect to his university in 2021, containing insults against Christians and blasphemous language.
“There are no indications of structured Islamist radicalisation,” Piantedosi said, while adding that the assault nevertheless raised “profound questions” about social alienation, integration, and identity among some second-generation immigrants.
The remarks reflect growing concern within Italy’s right-wing governing coalition that failures in integration, combined with psychological instability and exposure to extremist rhetoric online, may create serious security risks even in the absence of formal terrorist connections.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini argued that the case demonstrated the collapse of Italy’s approach to integration. Speaking on Radio 24, Salvini said it was even more alarming that the suspect was educated and socially integrated on paper, rather than marginalised or isolated.
If he drives around with a knife in his car, mows down people at 100 km/h in the center of Modena, and writes “Christian bastards” and praises Allah in Arabic on … Facebook, it is evidently even more serious.
Italianissimo, laureato e perfettamente integrato, non vi pare?
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) May 18, 2026
Chissà se qualcuno tenterà ancora di minimizzare l’attentato di Modena.
Vediamo se tivù e stampa di sinistra censureranno anche queste parole d’amore…
Avanti con la proposta di legge della Lega per revocare la… pic.twitter.com/aSGWsEKv7U
According to right-wing MEP Silvia Sardone,
increasingly disturbing details are emerging about Salim El Koudri. Hatred towards Christians and strong resentment towards Italians. Reducing his act solely to a mental health problem is proving more and more to be an incorrect oversimplification!
Emergono aspetti sempre più inquietanti su Salim #ElKoudri, l'attentatore di #Modena. Odio verso i cristiani e forte risentimento verso gli italiani.
— Silvia Sardone (@SardoneSilvia) May 18, 2026
Ridurre il suo gesto solo a un problema di salute mentale risulta sempre di più una semplificazione sbagliata! pic.twitter.com/9cx7OOtZMc
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni cancelled her Cyprus trip to join Italian President Sergio Mattarella visiting the victims in hospital on Sunday, while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for greater attention to both mental health and security concerns.
Several politicians within the coalition used the attack to renew calls for stricter immigration controls, including tougher rules on residency permits and family reunification. Members of Salvini’s Lega party argued that residency rights should be revoked more easily for migrants who commit crimes or display signs of dangerous extremism.
The attack once again lays bare the failures of Europe’s migration policies. While this was the first such attack in Italy, car-rammings have become a modus operandi for Islamic terrorists in other parts of the continent.
Many of these perpetrators have been said to suffer from mental illnesses, but the question arises: why are only migrants mad enough to plough into a crowd of people?
Investigators continue to analyse Salim El Koudri’s electronic devices and online activity, while authorities have postponed his formal questioning until Tuesday, May 19th. His lawyer has claimed the suspect was neither religious nor observant, noting that he requested a Bible while in custody rather than Islamic literature.
For many Italians, however, the Modena attack has reinforced fears that Europe remains vulnerable not only to organised terrorism, but also to violent acts carried out by alienated individuals of migrant backgrounds shaped by failed integration, social resentment, and ideological hostility towards Western society.