World

Italy PM Meloni heads to Modena after car-ramming, cancels Cyprus meeting

By Reuters Reuters

Updated May 17, 2026 2:00 AM

The car that drove into pedestrians is removed from the scene after several people were injured in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer — The car that drove into pedestrians is removed from the scene after several people were injured in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer Stringer Reuters

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MILAN - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to Modena on Sunday, a day after several people were injured in a car-ramming incident there, cancelling a meeting in Nicosia with Cyprus' president in order to make the trip, government sources said.

Italy's President Sergio Mattarella will also travel to the Italian northern city, the sources added.

A 30-year-old man, born in Italy and of North African origin, drove a car into a crowd in the city centre on Saturday, injuring eight people, four of them seriously.

The man attempted to flee and stabbed one of three passersby who tried to stop him. He was later arrested by police.

Modena's prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday that the suspect is under investigation for massacre and personal injury, adding that efforts are under way to establish the motive behind his actions.

They said the man struck pedestrians in the crowded city centre, which has more than 180,000 residents, "in an indiscriminate, random and deliberate manner".

"The man had received treatment for mental health issues in 2022 due to schizoid personality disorder, after which he went off the radar," Modena's mayor, Massimo Mezzetti, told broadcaster RaiNews24 late on Saturday.

Among those seriously injured, two had suffered the loss of their legs, with one in a life-threatening condition, the prosecutors added.

(Reporting by Sara Rossi, editing by Kirsten Donovan)

The car that drove into pedestrians is removed from the scene after several people were injured in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer — The car that drove into pedestrians is removed from the scene after several people were injured in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer Stringer Reuters

The car that drove into pedestrians is removed from the scene after several people were injured in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer — The car that drove into pedestrians is removed from the scene after several people were injured in the center of the northern Italian city of Modena, Italy, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer Stringer Reuters

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 1:45 AM.