2017 Barcelona attack

On 17 August 2017, a white van hit pedestrians on La Rambla, Barcelona, leaving fourteen people dead and dozens injured.[1] The two suspects then fled on foot.[2][3]

Las Ramblas in Barcelona. The red line shows the route of the van.

At around 17:20 CEST, a white Fiat Talento drove onto the pavement of Barcelona's Las Ramblas, crashing into pedestrians between Plaça Catalunya and Gran Teatre del Liceu.[4][5]

In the press conference held by the police at 7:00pm local time, the spokesperson confirmed the terrorist nature of the event, a dead person and 32 injured —10 of those in serious condition.[6] Other sources are claiming the fatality count is 13.[7]

Police said two men were arrested in connection with the attack; another was reported killed in a shootout with police.[8] In Ripoll, a man in his 20s was alleged to have rented the van, but told police his ID was stolen.[9] Amaq News Agency said the attackers were "soldiers of the Islamic State" who "carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting coalition states".[10]

An explosion happened the night before the attack in the Catalan town of Alcanar. It flattened a building and killed a woman. The head of the Mossos d'Esquadra Josep Lluís Trapero said it was related to the ramming. Nine hours after the attack, police killed four people in Tarragona said to be planning a terrorist attack in Cambrils.