Italian political leaders have praised Luca Signorelli after he helped stop the suspect behind a violent rampage in the northern Italian city of Modena yesterday morning.
The incident took place on Via Emilia in central Modena when a 31-year-old man identified as Salim El Koudri, drove a car at high speed into pedestrians before attempting to flee and later attacking civilians with a knife. At least eight people were injured, several of them seriously.
According to Italian media reports and witness testimony, Luca Signorelli was among the civilians who pursued the suspect after the vehicle crashed into a storefront. During the confrontation, the suspect attacked Signorelli with a knife, striking him in the head. Despite the injury, Signorelli managed to restrain the attacker together with other bystanders until police arrived.
Speaking to reporters after the attack, Signorelli described how he chased the suspect after initially trying to assist injured victims at the scene.
“He tried to stab me twice, one blow aimed at the heart and another at the head,” Signorelli said while bleeding from his head wound. “I blocked his wrist and neutralised him.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly thanked the civilians who intervened, praising their courage and civic responsibility. Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti also described the intervention as heroic and said the actions of the bystanders likely prevented further casualties.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella also praised Signorelli and the civilians involved, according to Italian media coverage following the attack.
Italian authorities have not yet formally classified the incident as terrorism, although the anti-terrorism unit of the Bologna Prosecutor’s Office is assisting in the investigation. Early reports indicate that the suspect had a history of psychiatric treatment, while investigators continue examining possible motives behind the attack.
The Modena attack has also drawn comparisons with previous vehicle-ramming attacks seen across Europe over the past decade, where attackers used cars and knives against civilians in crowded urban areas.
Watch Luca Signorelli interviwed by La7 here.
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