Police fire at lorry in motorway drama
Authorities try to stop stolen vehicle carrying butane gas
MADRID // Police in Barcelona yesterday fired gunshots to stop a man who stole a butane gas lorry and drove it at high speed against traffic on a city motorway, ramming several cars along the way.
Authorities ruled out terrorism as a motive.
Spain’s interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, said that the man, a Swede, had a history of psychiatric conditions, adding that “it has not been any terrorist act”.
The accused, 32, was arrested after police agents fired at the lorry’s wheels to stop it, regional police chief Joan Carles Molinero said.
He was being questioned at a regional hospital where he was sent for a medical examination.
A Brazilian woman suffered a leg injury when she was hit by one of several butane gas tanks that fell off the lorry as the man tried to escape by speeding down a motorway near the north-eastern Spanish city’s famed harbour.
The incident took place at about 11am (2pm UAE time) yesterday. Mr Molinero said police started chasing the lorry after the driver failed to obey orders to stop from agents who had seen him driving at high speed and dropping part of its load.
During the chase that ensued, the driver took a turn near the city’s harbour and drove against traffic and into a motorway exit where several cars were hit.
It finally stopped when it crashed against one of the motorway’s walls.
Local and regional police agents arrested the driver, who carried no weapons and appeared unharmed. “At the moment we have no indication whatsoever that he was planning a terrorist attack,” Mr Molinero said, adding that police were investigating the man and searching the place where he lived.
“We are working on the possibility that it could be a person with psychological imbalances or who has consumed substances.”
Spain has kept its security alert at one step below maximum since July 2015, after attacks in France and elsewhere.