标签： Europe

A shocking violent incident unfolded in the historic northern Italian city of Modena on Thursday, leaving eight people wounded after a man in his 30s deliberately drove his vehicle into pedestrians before launching a stabbing spree, local authorities confirmed. Of those injured, four are in critical condition, including one woman who suffered devastating crushing injuries to both legs, according to initial official reports. The attack unfolded at approximately 16:30 local time, which translates to 14:30 GMT, in the busy central district of Modena, a city located roughly 45 kilometers southeast of Milan.

Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti told reporters that early investigations indicate the driver intentionally veered his speeding car onto a crowded pedestrian sidewalk, striking multiple people before crashing through the glass front of a local shop. After exiting his wrecked vehicle, the suspect pulled out a knife and began threatening and attacking bystanders. One civilian who stepped in to intervene during the chaos suffered only minor injuries, authorities added.

Quick action from members of the public prevented further harm: eyewitnesses and passersby immediately pursued the suspect after the attack, successfully overpowering and detaining him before turning him over to responding law enforcement officers. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a statement shortly after the incident, calling the event “extremely serious” and expressing concern over the violence. Mayor Mezzetti echoed the prime minister’s sentiment, noting that the incident would carry even graver implications if investigators confirm the attack was premeditated.

Officials have confirmed the suspect is an Italian national who was born in Bergamo, a city in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, and has Maghreb ancestry. He has been a resident of the Modena province for an undisclosed period, and local Italian media outlets have already published his full identity following the attack. Law enforcement have not yet released an official motive for the attack, with investigations ongoing as of Thursday evening.

On a regular Saturday in the northern Italian city of Modena, a sudden and shocking incident unfolded that left multiple civilians seriously hurt after a car veered onto a crowded pedestrian sidewalk and struck passersby before crashing into a local shop window. Local authorities confirmed that eight people were hurt in the crash, with four of the victims suffering life-threatening injuries that demanded urgent, advanced medical intervention. No fatalities have been reported as of the latest updates from city officials.

Modena Mayor Massimo Mezzetti shared detailed accounts of the devastating event with reporters, confirming that one woman was trapped between the out-of-control vehicle and a shop display window, a trauma that left surgeons with no choice but to amputate both of her legs to save her life. The 31-year-old driver, who was born in Bergamo and grew up in Modena’s surrounding province, was quickly taken into custody after civilians nearby intervened to stop him as he attempted to flee the scene. He is currently being held at Modena’s central police headquarters, where investigators are conducting extensive questioning to determine whether he was operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or if the incident was a deliberate deliberate act of violence.

According to Mezzetti’s retelling of the sequence of events, the vehicle pulled onto one of the city’s busiest central thoroughfares before suddenly swerving onto the pedestrian sidewalk, striking multiple people and sending several bodies flying through the air before the car collided with the shop’s glass front. Though witnesses told investigators they saw the driver carrying a knife, he did not succeed in stabbing any bystanders before he was detained. That detail has only deepened the questions surrounding what prompted the incident, with local authorities still working to parse whether the event was premeditated, or stemmed from a medical emergency, substance impairment, or other unintended causes.

All eight injured victims have been transported to receive care at major hospitals in both Modena and nearby Bologna, with the most critical cases airlifted by emergency helicopter to ensure they received treatment as quickly as possible. Multiple layers of Italian law enforcement and emergency response agencies, including local police, the national carabinieri, and financial police, were dispatched to the scene immediately after the crash. The entire area was cordoned off while first responders provided on-site care to injured people before they were moved to hospitals.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly addressed the incident in a social media statement, calling the event “extremely serious” and offering her official solidarity to all the people harmed in the crash and their families. Meloni extended her gratitude to the civilians who stepped in to stop the driver before police arrived, as well as to the law enforcement and emergency medical teams that responded to the emergency. The prime minister added that she has remained in constant contact with local Modena authorities, and made clear that she expects the full weight of accountability to be applied to the suspect regardless of what investigators uncover about his motives.

Mayor Mezzetti echoed that sentiment, noting that regardless of the root cause of the incident, it represents an uncommonly severe act of harm against innocent civilians. “If it were an attack, it would be even more serious,” he told reporters, as investigators continue to piece together the full context of what unfolded on Modena’s downtown streets.

A devastating double tragedy has unfolded off the coast of the Maldives, where a rescue diver has lost his life during operations to recover the remains of five Italian divers who died in an earlier catastrophic scuba incident. The accident, already marked as the deadliest single diving disaster in the history of the popular Indian Ocean tourist destination, has compounded grief on both sides of the continent.

The first incident unfolded on Thursday morning, when a group of five Italian divers entered the water at Vaavu Atoll, a remote reef system located roughly 100 kilometers south of the Maldivian capital Male. The group never returned to their departure yacht, the Duke of York, prompting an immediate search and rescue operation. Local authorities confirmed that a yellow weather warning for rough sea conditions was already in effect for the area before the divers entered the water.

Four members of the deceased group are affiliated with the University of Genoa: ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and two university researchers. The fifth fatality was Gianluca Benedetti, an experienced diving instructor and boat operations manager contracted for the expedition. As of Saturday, just one body has been recovered from a deep cave system located 60 meters below sea level – twice the maximum depth permitted for recreational scuba diving in Maldivian waters, which is capped at 30 meters. Officials say it remains unclear why the group chose to explore the deep, unregulated cave system.

The 20 other Italian nationals who remained aboard the Duke of York during the dive were unharmed, and are now receiving consular support from the Italian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

On Saturday, the mission to recover the four remaining bodies claimed a new casualty: Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee, a Maldivian military rescue diver. Government spokesperson Mohamed Hossain Shareef told the BBC that eight rescue divers entered the water that day, but only seven returned to the surface. When fellow rescuers returned to search for Mahdhee, they found he had blacked out at depth. He was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Maldives military officials have emphasized that the recovery operation carries extreme risk, worsened by persistent unfavorable weather conditions that have complicated search efforts. Following news of Mahdhee’s death, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu traveled to Vaavu Atoll to personally oversee ongoing operations and meet with response teams.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani offered his official condolences to the people of Maldives following the second loss of life. “These days of grief for Italy are compounded by the news that one of your brave soldiers… died while attempting to dive to reach the bodies of our fellow Italians,” Tajani said in a statement. “This tragedy unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims.”

A tragic incident unfolding in the heart of Dublin city center has left one man dead and another injured following an alleged shoplifting incident on Friday. According to official updates from Irish law enforcement, the event unfolded shortly before 5 p.m. local time on Henry Street, one of Dublin’s busiest retail thoroughfares.

Security personnel working in the area took a man in his 30s into custody in connection with the suspected theft at a local retail outlet. As the suspect attempted to escape the scene, he collided with and injured an elderly man in his 80s. First responders transported the older man to Dublin’s Mater Hospital, where medics confirmed he was suffering from injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

However, the situation took a fatal turn for the detained suspect. Gardaí, Ireland’s national police service, confirmed that the man in his 30s quickly became unresponsive while still at the detention site. Emergency services immediately rushed him to the same Mater Hospital, but medical teams were unable to revive him, and he was officially pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

In line with standard investigative protocol for such incidents, Gardaí have moved quickly to secure all evidence. The entire incident site was cordoned off immediately after the event to preserve forensic evidence, and specialist forensic teams have now completed their examination of the area. Irish authorities have notified the coroner of the death, and the Office of the State Pathologist has been assigned to conduct a full post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death. The findings from this autopsy will play a critical role in guiding the direction of Gardaí’s ongoing investigation into the incident.

Per regulatory requirements for deaths involving individuals in detention, the case has automatically been referred to Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, which will oversee the probe to ensure full transparency and accountability throughout the investigation process.

A fatal incident at a residential property in north Dublin has left one man dead and triggered the arrest of a second individual, according to official updates from Irish law enforcement. Gardaí, Ireland’s national police service, confirmed that emergency dispatchers received an emergency alert shortly after 12:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, prompting immediate deployment of both police officers and emergency medical teams to the Brookwood Heights neighborhood in Artane.

Upon arrival at the scene, first responders administered urgent on-site medical care to a 30-year-old man who had been injured at the property. Despite the prompt intervention of emergency personnel, the 30-year-old was pronounced dead a short time after treatment began.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, law enforcement took a man in his 60s into custody in connection with the death. Investigative teams have already notified the local coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist as standard procedure for unexplained fatalities. A post-mortem examination has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of the 30-year-old man’s death, which will provide critical evidence for the ongoing investigation.

As of the latest update, no further details about the relationship between the two men or the circumstances leading up to the incident have been released to the public. Gardaí are continuing their investigation into the death at the north Dublin property.