A rental car jumped onto a sidewalk in a busy intersection in Barcelona, plowing right into a crowd of people and causing multiple fatalities. The attacker hit the tourist area of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain. According to USA Today, one death has been confirmed, while the total unconfirmed death toll may be as high as 13 according to local media. Even more were injured in the attack, as 32 injuries have been reported and 10 are considered serious. Two suspects were seen fleeing from the van, and they are believed to be inside a restaurant in La Boqueria Market.
According to Spanish journalist Marta Pastor, one suspect is believed to originate from the Maghreb, a region in Northwest Africa. The Maghreb is made up of four countries in the Middle East: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
Update (8/17/2017, 1:49 P.M. EST): The suspects are believed to be inside a restaurant in La Boqueria Market. One suspect is said to be armed. It isn’t none whether or not they’ve taken hostages.
Update (8/17/2017, 1:52 P.M. EST): Spanish broadcaster Atev said that one suspect has been arrested. While the other suspect has barricaded himself inside a restaurant in La Boqueria Market.
Update (8/17/2017, 2:19 P.M. EST): The suspect who has been arrested in today’s terrorist attack has been identified. His name is Driss Oukabir. The second suspect has been arrested, but his identity has not yet been released to the public. A third suspect was shot dead by police, and also has not yet been identified.
https://twitter.com/N_Waters89/status/898211671470202880
Reuters reports that two men were seen fleeing the van.
https://twitter.com/NewsReport365/status/898218906967568384
No terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for today’s incident in Barcelona. However, ISIS is celebrating the attack. Twitter user Joshua Molloy tweeted out comments coming from a pro ISIS channel regarding the attack in #Barcelona…
One Tweeter user by the name of Abu Hasum wrote, “A van just ran over people in Barcelona!!! Allu Akbar (translation: God is great)!!! They can die in their rage.”
https://twitter.com/joshmolloy101/status/898214387370135552
Police have shut down the street where the fatal van hit.
El Pais writes, “[Las Ramblas] is now cordoned off and the downtown settlements have been evacuated… Police sources have explained that it is a white van that ran down several people, and after the driver fled on foot.” They add that the driver ran over people while they were attempting to cross the street during a traffic light.
The Catalan autonomous police Tweeted out a statement, “There has just been a massive trampling on the Ramblas in Barcelona by a person with a van. They are injured.”
https://twitter.com/mossos/status/898202515665235968
Police have also asked commuters not to use public transit for the time being.
La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, where the van hit. However, people often use the plural “Las Ramblas” to refer to the street. It is located in Central Barcelona and is very popular with tourists and locals alike. During the height of the tourist season, the street is known to be very crowded.
Here’s raw footage of the immediate aftermath from the Las Ramblas terror attack…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P4FtzcU4zk
Here’s a video of police responding to today’s attack…
https://twitter.com/Bradley_Barber/status/898214577841852416
Take a live look into what’s going on right in at the scene of the incident. Here’s a live feed into the chaos…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoXNl3pRkEU
