Hail of bullets that finally brought down knifeman
FILMED on a smartphone, a terrorist defiantly faces police marksmen before being cut down in a hail of gunfire.
Footage shows the suspect laughing and taunting officers before being floored by up to ten bullets.
Despite his wounds, he managed to get to his feet and continue to mock police before he was finally killed by a flurry of further shots. The terrorist was part of the murderous gang of five who minutes earlier had carried out a rampage at the seaside resort of Cambrils.
High on drugs and in a black Audi A3 packed with knives and an axe, they drove at pedestrians milling around the resort’s promenade before smashing into a stationary police car. Emerging from their overturned vehicle wearing what appeared to be suicide vests, they slashed at passers-by before a single police officer brought four of them down in a hail of bullets.
The fifth managed to escape, fleeing along the beach on foot before he too was shot in terrifying scenes caught on camera. A 61year- old Spanish woman was stabbed to death, while six others – including a female police officer – were injured.
The five men launched their assault just hours after 13 were killed and scores more injured in a van attack in Barcelona on Thursday. Cambrils is popular with tourists from around Europe and the promenade was still bustling with holidaymakers when they attacked.
Two officers carrying out routine checks were in their patrol car when it was rammed. A woman officer was injured – leaving her partner to take on the men alone. Josep Lluis Trapero, head of the local police force Mossa, told reporters: ‘To kill four people, even if you are a professional, is not easy to digest.’
As the fifth attacker fled wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest he stabbed a passerby in the face but was shot down by two plainclothes officers who rushed to the scene as back-up. The scenes were witnessed by a group of British judo stars in Cambrils for a coaching summit.
One of the group, Fitzroy Davies, captured the terrifying scenes on his mobile phone. The 54-year-old from Wolverhampton said: ‘About ten shots were fired and he fell to the ground. Then he got up... he just came back up like a zombie. He got up... and he was laughing and taunting the police and they just went “bang bang” and shot him again and he went down again.’
Also in the group was British judo champion Winston Gordon, 40, who was hit in the foot by a ricocheting bullet.
Before carrying out the attack, the group of terrorists were spotted buying sweets and fizzy drinks and were ‘smiling and joking’, according to a shopkeeper. Cabrils was also where the operational leader of the 9/11 atrocity met with an al Qaeda operative.