Modena, Mattarella and Meloni in hospital. The president to the doctors: 'Thank you for what you do'

The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the hospital of Baggiovara in Modena to visit the injured in yesterday afternoon's massacre. They passed journalists and cameras at the entrance. 'Thank you president' and 'bravo Mattarella' were the words of the small crowd present, along with applause. 'You are followed here with particular attention and gratitude by all our fellow citizens,' the Head of State said to the doctors treating the wounded.

Earlier Luca Signorelli, the man who helped stop the bomber, had been greeted with applause. "Thank you, thank you," he replied. Then, to the journalists, he declared: 'I showed that Italia is not dead, it is still there. Mattarella congratulated me, he told me that I made a heroic gesture'. Signorelli was moved going back to yesterday: 'It was like a scene from Beirut, from Gaza. I saw people turn away because they were afraid. Sometimes you have to respond'.

Also in town are Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Police Chief-Director General of Public Security Vittorio Pisani. The two will visit the prefecture.

At present, the initial analyses carried out on the devices seized from Salim El Koudri, the 31-year-old who yesterday in Modena hit several passers-by, does not suggest any elements of radicalisation or links with jihadist groups. This is what we learn from investigative sources. The prevailing hypothesis at the moment, therefore, remains that of a deed that can be traced back to the mental problems from which the man was suffering and from which he was being treated.

Salim El Koudri, born in Bergamo, who was being treated for psychiatric problems, mowed down some people with his car at breakneck speed and stabbed a passer-by who was trying with others to stop him. He is charged with massacre and injury, but not with terrorism. Eight were injured. The sister of one of them: 'He remembers everything. He saw people blown up'. Four in serious condition, two had their legs amputated. There are those who try to ride the incident politically. The League proposes to change the law on residence permits: 'The residence permit to an immigrant is an act of generosity and trust: if this trust is betrayed, revocation of the permit and expulsion must become the rule'. But Salim El Koudri was an Italian citizen.