The investigation into the multiple hit-and-run that occurred last Saturday in the center of the Italian city of Modena, which left eight injured and shocked Italy, focuses on trying to find out the reasons that drove the perpetrator, who has not been found to have links with radical groups. He is Samir El Koudri, 31 years old, graduated in Business Administration, Italian son of Moroccans, and with a past of psychiatric disorders. He ran over several pedestrians with his vehicle at high speed and then stabbed the man who finally managed to stop him while the police arrived.
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According to local media, investigators are analyzing some old writings found in his home. El Koudri is in custody, charged with attempted multiple homicide and stabbing. The emails in question, dated five years ago, were addressed to the University of Modena, where he previously applied for a job after obtaining his academic degree and reflected deep personal distress.
“I want to work. You have to give me a job as an administrative worker, not as a warehouseman, understood? And here in Modena, not in the middle of nowhere, where if you are lucky you have 500 euros left in your pocket per month,” the man wrote, according to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
The now detained man even raised the tone to send threatening messages: “Fucking Christian bastards. You and your Jesus Christ on the cross. I’ll burn it.” In later emails, he tried to apologize. “Sorry for the bad manners. I can’t find a job matching my training. I’m 27 years old and live with my foreign parents. What do you advise me to do?” he wrote.
Investigators are studying these messages and the memory of the detainee’s phone to try to reconstruct the man’s personality and determine whether behind the attack in downtown Modena there may be an attempt to imitate other massacres that occurred in several European countries, perpetrated by people with psychiatric problems and without links to extremist Islamist-inspired groups.
His mobile phone is also being tracked to find out if recently he had been under someone’s influence or if he had shared his concern about not finding a job. Agents are also waiting for the company Meta to provide them with a copy of the messages he had deleted from the detainee’s social networks for violating their usage rules.
For now, the authorities are considering various hypotheses and have avoided referring to political or religious claims. The line of investigation with the most strength is based on the idea that the attack was linked to a severe psychological crisis rather than a terrorist motivation. Local authorities have confirmed that El Koudri had been treated in the past for psychiatric disorders. The Modena prosecutor’s office is also analyzing the detainee’s clinical history to determine what triggered the attack.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has explained that investigators so far “have not found signs of Islamist radicalization” and that it does not seem that the detainee belongs “to fundamentalist propaganda networks.” He also pointed out that after searching his home and mobile phone, they have not found elements typical of the “classic profile of a terrorist who plans violent actions.”
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However, the minister pointed out that the investigations continue and that the detainee’s profile will be clearer when investigators complete their work. “In any case, all this cannot lead to dismissing the attack as an isolated act of madness,” the minister said on his social networks. He added: “We are talking about a deliberate attack against defenseless civilians of absolute severity, which raises profound questions about social unrest, integration, and the processes of identity construction of some second generations. It would be a mistake to close the case with a simplistic or reassuring explanation.”
He stopped taking medication
The detainee’s lawyer, Fausto Giannelli, explained that his client had stopped taking the medication prescribed by psychiatrists a few years ago. “He stopped going to therapy and taking the medicines, which triggered a progressive deterioration of his condition,” the lawyer explained in statements to Sky TG24 and added: “He stopped the treatment because he said he was fine, he was calm, and didn’t need it.”
The lawyer also explained that the detainee has requested to be brought a Bible to his cell. “It is a somewhat particular request because he is not a believing Muslim, we know that, he does not go to the mosque, does not observe Ramadan, but he is not a practicing Catholic either,” the lawyer clarified, who also pointed out that the man has requested tobacco and some books to read in prison.
Additionally, the lawyer indicated that in 2022 El Koudri voluntarily went to a mental health center because he felt “persecuted.” That is where the treatment began, including pharmacological. He added that he will request a psychiatric test for the defense, as “he has not realized what happened,” according to his assessment. “He is in a state of mental confusion, seems to be in a condition of complete confusion, does not seem lucid, seems not to remember what happened, is apathetic at times and surprised when he remembers what has happened. He is not aware of what happened,” Giannelli pointed out.
Salvini demands tougher measures
The incident has sparked intense political debate in the transalpine country. While some representatives of the Italian right have linked the case to immigration, others remind that the detainee is an Italian citizen and that, for now, the evidence points to mental health problems. Matteo Salvini, vice president and leader of the far-right League, has called the detainee “a second-generation criminal” and demanded tougher measures against foreigners who commit crimes.
The mayor of Modena, Massimo Mozzetti, has asked not to jump to conclusions, recalled that two citizens of Egyptian origin helped stop the attacker, and called for caution while the motive of the attack is clarified.
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