Van Driver in Barcelona Terror Attack Shot Dead

Spanish police on Monday shot dead the main suspect in last Thursday’s Barcelona attack, Younes Abouyaaqoub. Police believe he was the driver of a van which careered down the Las Ramblas avenue, killing 14 and injuring more than 100.

He was killed during the operation in Subirats, some 25 miles (40km) west of Barcelona near a sewage treatment works following a tip off from a woman petrol station employee, who became suspicious when she noticed the man was wearing long sleeves when it was about 30 degrees celsius. Abouyaaqoub, wearing a fake explosive belt, is reported to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Greatest”). The suspect also had knives in his possession when he was shot, said Jose Luis Trapero, head of Catalan Polce.

At an earlier news conference, police described Abouyaaqoub’s escape from the scene of the Barcelona attack on foot to the outskirts of the city where he hijacked a car to escape. Abouyaaqoub allegedly stabbed the owner of the car as he parked his vehicle. The man murdered in the car was named as Pau Pérez, 34, from Vila Franca – the 15th victim of the Barcelona bloodshed and a later attack in the resort of Cambrils.