Van terror driver shot dead by Spanish police
‘Much-loved’ Julian Cadman between the Catalan of Subirats and the Sadurni d’Anoia area.
Roser Venura, the owner’s daughter, said: “We heard a helicopter flying around and many police cars coming toward the gas station.”
Residents of Subirats were warned to stay indoors last night amid reports the fanatic may have had an accomplice.
Another report said residents had recognised the fugitive from police appeals and a third said he was spotted breaking into houses.
Police sent in a robot to remove the suicide vest which was confirmed as fake.
Abouyaaqoub was the final member of the 12-man cell still at large after last week’s attacks in Barcelona and in Cambrils, 75 miles away.
CCTV footage released yesterday showed him strolling away in a T-shirt from the dumped van, through the busy La Boqueria market. He is then believed to have town Sant stabbed motorist Pau Perez to death and stolen his Ford Focus.
He fled with the body still in the car and rammed a police blockade at Sant Just Desvern, outside Barcelona.
Abouyaaqoub then ran over a police officer as he tried to evade a checkpoint. The car was later found two miles away.
Five other cell members were shot dead by police on Thursday night after they drove a car at crowds walking along the seafront in Cambrils and stabbed to death a 61-year-old woman.
Two gang members died when dozens of butane gas canisters exploded prematurely at their bomb factory in the town of Alcanar on Wednesday night.
One of those killed in the explosion is understood to be hardline imam Abdelbaki Es Satty, who radicalised the allMoroccan cell. Four gang members are in custody.
Spanish authorities say 34 nationalities were among the 120 people wounded in the attacks in Las Ramblas and Cambrils.
Among the fatalities in Barcelona were Italians, Portuguese, Belgians, Spaniards, Spanish-Argentinians, Canadians and Americans. Yesterday, the family of “much-loved” Julian Cadman said more than £34,000 has been raised in his memory.
Julian, seven, who had dual British-Australian nationality, was separated from his mother Jom when the van tore down the pedestrianised section of Las Ramblas.
His family released a statement, saying: “He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces.”