Car ramming terror attack in Italy: what we so far know

In the afternoon of Saturday, May 16, a 31-year-old individual of Moroccan origins identified as Salim El Koudri rammed his car against pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena before crashing into a shop window, descending from the vehicle and stabbing whoever stood on his way.

The attacker was immediately apprehended by bystanders who chased and blocked him until police arrived. One of the civilians who intervened was injured by the attacker who slashed him in the head. The final toll of the attack is of eight wounded, four of whom in serious conditions, including one woman who had her legs crushed by the car ramming.

The attacker, an economics graduate originally from the city of Bergamo who had moved to the Modena province, had been receiving treatment at a psychiatric facility in Castelfranco Emilia until 2024, and may recently have undergone a process of radicalization that ultimately led him to carry out yesterday afternoon’s attack.

Salim El Koudri’s social media accounts are currently unavailable, most likely due to the removal of problematic content by Meta, which shut them down some time ago.

In addition to investigators from the Bologna District Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate and the Modena Public Prosecutor’s Office, the case is also being closely monitored by the Committee for Strategic Anti-Terrorism Analysis (CASA). The possibility of a lone-wolf attack has long been a major concern for analysts, particularly in recent years as international tensions have escalated from the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, onwards.

The attacker’s modus operandi is the classic “lone wolf” approach, already used in numerous attacks in Europe and the United States by ISIS supporters: the perpetrator first uses the vehicle as a weapon against bypassers, before continuing the attack with a knife while fleeing.

It should also be noted that Saturday, May 16, marked the 78th anniversary of the so-called “Nakba,” and demonstrations against Israel, the United States, and their allies were underway in several Italian cities, led by Islamist, Palestinian, and far-left groups.

At present, the investigation continues while delving into the attacker’s past and interpersonal relationships to understand whether he was a self-motivated individual or whether he may have had ties to extremist networks. Saturday’s attack is the first case of a car ramming terror attack on Italian soil.