18 AUG 2017: Two people are under arrest after a rented white Fiat van ploughed into a crowd of people in Las Ramblas in central Barcelona yesterday. A hundred people were injured and Spanish authorities have confirmed that 13 died. The Catalan police activated terrorist protocol. Two other incidents took place in other regions of Spain, which police report are related, one of which resulted in a third suspect being charged.
The Barcelona incident took place on a street with shops and stalls -popular with tourists. Pedestrians use the middle of the road and automobiles travel on either side.
The vehicle is said to have travelled 500 metres through pedestrians stopping only when it hit a newspaper kiosk. The Spanish newspaper El País said that the driver fled on foot.
A second van, thought to be a get-away vehicle was found in the town of Vic in Catalonia.
Police released a photo of a man named Driss Oukabir, who was alleged to have rented the van, but Oukabir identified himself to police in Ripol after seeing his photo circulating in the media.
He is said to have told police that his younger brother had stolen his identification which was found in the van.
It is not clear if he is among those arrested.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was on vacation in Galicia, north-west Spain and returned to Madrid, Tweeting that the priority is to attend to the injured.
In the past year there have been a number of incidents of terrorist attacks using automobiles. In July 2016 a tractor-trailer drove through people celebrating Bastille Day on the beach promenade of Nice, killing 86. Last December 12 people were run down at a Christmas market in Berlin. As recently as June eight people died and many were injured by a speeding van at Borough Market in London and last weekend a car ploughed into a crowd of people in Charlottesville, Virginia killing one woman and injuring 19 people.
Condolences were shared globally, “It is with profound sorrow and anguish that I have learnt of the terrorist attack that has struck at the heart of Barcelona this afternoon,” said Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission.
“I hold a special thought for the heroic people who responded by running towards danger to help others and to the security forces who are working to keep the population safe. The commission is at the full disposal of the authorities for any help or assistance necessary.”
“Canada condemns today’s terror attack in Barcelona — our hearts, sympathies & support are with the victims and their families,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said her thoughts were with the victims, and “the UK stands with Spain against terror”.
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said consular assistance was being provided to Americans in the city, and said his country would “find terrorists around the world” and bring them to justice.
The Barcelona Tourist Association offered accommodations to tourists displaced by the attack and a Catalan official said that three days of mourning have been declared in the city following the attack.
Canadian foreign affairs issued a tweet with a contact number for Canadians in Spain, who required assistance. There is a Canadian consulate in Barcelona.
The department urged Canadians in Spain to let their “loved ones know you are safe.”
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Early Friday police in Spain’s Catalonia region reported troopers having shot dead five suspected terrorists wearing what turned out to be fake bomb belts.
The men are reported to have driven into pedestrians on the Cambrils seaside attacking them with knives before being killed by the police.
This incident caused seven people to be injured including an officer. Two citizens are in serious condition.
A person was arrested in the Catalan town of Ripoll, making three arrests in total.
Yet another situation (allegedly related) took place in the coastal town of Alcanar (90 km southwest of Cambrils), where one person was killed when gas canisters blew up in a residence. Seven people were injured.