A white van jumped the sidewalk on Thursday in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people as it ploughed into a summer crowd of tourists and residents, police said. The El Pais newspaper said police were treating the crash as a terror attack. Local media are reporting that up to 13 are feared dead, while the police have confirmed that one person has been killed in the attack.
Live updates:
2:00 p.m.:
Previous attacks in Spain
Spain was hit by what is still Europe's deadliest jihadist attack in March 2004, when bombs exploded on commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people in an attack claimed by Al Qaeda-inspired extremists.
In July 2015, a hooded attacker opened fire outside a hotel in downtown Barcelona near Las Ramblas boulevard, leaving two people injured, police said. No suspected motive for that attack was given.
1:45 a.m.: The police force for Spain’s Catalonia region says a car knocked down two police officers at a traffic checkpoint in Barcelona.
The Mossos d’Esquadra force did not indicate if the incident was related to the van attack in the city’s Las Ramblas district on Thursday that left 12 people dead and dozens injured.
Barcelona police later said in a tweet that the car and its driver were intercepted about 10 kilometers outside of the downtown area where the original attack happened.
Local media reports said a white Ford Focus ran over the officers and that a person from the car was shot and killed by regional troopers.
Neither the city nor regional police have said whether a suspect was shot.
1:30 a.m.: Police say bomb squad checking area in Barcelona outskirts near where driver of car who struck police officers located.
1:25 a.m.: One Belgian national was killed in Thursday's van attack in Barcelona, the country's foreign minister Didier Reynders said on Twitter.
He told Belgian media that the victim was a woman. "I offer my condolences to her family and loved ones," Mr. Reynders tweeted.
1:20 a.m.:
IS claims responsibility
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the van attack in Barcelona that officials say killed 12 people and injured many others.
A statement carried by the extremist group’s media arm the Aamaq news agency says Thursday’s attack was carried out by “soldiers of the Islamic State.”
It says the attack was in response to IS calls for its followers to target countries participating in the coalition trying to drive the extremist group from Syria and Iraq.
The statement provided no further details about the attackers.
1:00 a.m.:
Two arrested
Catalonia's regional head said on Thursday that Spanish police had arrested two people after a van drove into crowds in Barcelona city's centre.
At least 80 people have been hospitalized and around 12 have died, Carles Puigdemont told a news conference. It was still not clear how many attackers had been involved in the incident.
Puigdemont said people had been flocking to hospitals in Barcelona to give blood.
Barcelona's mayor, Ada Colau, said the city would hold a minute of silence on Friday at midday.
12:20 a.m.:
Toll rises to 13
A regional government official in Spain says 13 people have been killed in the van attack at a historic shopping and tourist area of Barcelona.
Catalan Interior Minister official Joaquim Forn also said on Twitter that more than 50 people were injured during Thursday’s attack.
Regional police now are evacuating stores and bars in the Las Ramblas district.
The move came right after police announced they had arrested one suspect and were “treating him as a terrorist.”
August 18, 2017 | 12:15 a.m.:
Nations condemn attack
French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel have condemned the attck.
The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the "revolting attack" in Barcelona. "We are thinking with profound sadness of the victims of the revolting attack in Barcelona -- with solidarity and frienship alongside the Spanish people," tweeted spokesman Steffen Seibert.
"We remain united and determined," Mr. Macron said on Twitter, describing it as a "tragic attack" and saying his thoughts were with the victims.
The Spain royals have also condemned the attck. "They won't terrorise us."
11:55 p.m.:
Official toll is one
A man was arrested over an attack in Spain's popular seaside city of Barcelona that saw a van plough through a street packed with pedestrians, killing at least one person and injuring over 30 others, police said Thursday.
"We arrested a man and we are treating this as a terrorist attack," police in the Spanish region of Catalonia, where Barcelona is located, tweeted. They added that no one was holed up in any bar of central Barcelona, denying what a police source had earlier said.
11:40 p.m.:
Indians safe
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said there are no reports of Indians affected in the attack. "I am in constant touch with Indian Embassy in Spain As of now, there is no report of an Indian casualty," she tweeted.
The Indian Embassy in Spain can be contacted at +34-608769335.
11:30 p.m.:
Terrorist attack, say police
Police in Spain have confirmed they are investigating the van incident in Barcelona as a terror attack, while local media reports say that up to 13 people have been killed.
Catalan police said- “We confirm the terrorist attack. The protocol for terrorist attacks has been activated.”
Media outlets, including Cadena SER radio station and TV3, are reporting up to 13 dead. Other reports had varying death tolls. An official death toll has not been issued.
11:15 p.m.: A person suspected of driving a van into pedestrians on one of the busiest streets of Barcelona on Thursday was holed up in a bar, a Spanish police source said.
"One of the attackers is holed up in a bar," said the source, who declined to be named, adding that police were looking for a total of two suspects over the attack which has left at least two people dead.
11:10 p.m.: A second van linked to an attack in Barcelona on Thursday has been found in the small town of Vic in Catalonia, local authorities there said on Twitter.
Police had cordoned off the area and were inspecting the vehicle, the city council said. Another van earlier mowed down crowds in a busy district in central Barcelona, killing at least 13 people according to local media.
11:00 p.m.: A government official in Barcelona says one person has been confirmed dead and 32 others injured in the van attack in the city’s historic Las Ramblas district.
Catalonia’s regional interior chief Joaquim Forn said during a news conference on Thursday- “Unfortunately the number of fatalities will likely rise.”
Media in Barcelona are reporting that up to 13 died in the attack. Barcelona police said on Twitter that 10 of the 32 people injured were seriously hurt.
A van mounted a sidewalk in the popular tourist area of Las Ramblas, slamming into a crowd of pedestrians on Thursday afternoon.
10:35 p.m.
Trump condemns attack
The White House says President Donald Trump has been alerted to the unfolding situation in Barcelona.
Chief of staff John Kelly is aware of the developments and is keeping the president informed.
Mr. Trump is on a working vacation at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. His wife, first lady Melania Trump, sent her “thoughts and prayers” to Barcelona via Twitter.
Police in Spain have confirmed fatalities after a van slammed into pedestrians in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district.
10:23 p.m. Police in Spain have confirmed they are investigating the van incident in Barcelona as a terror attack, while local media reports say that up to 13 people have been killed.
A van slammed into pedestrians on Thursday in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district, which is normally packed at the height of the summer tourist season.
Catalan police said- “We confirm the terrorist attack. The protocol for terrorist attacks has been activated.”
Media outlets, including Cadena SER radio station and TV3, are reporting up to 13 dead. Other reports had varying death tolls.
An official death toll has not been issued.
10:05 p.m. Barcelona resident Keith Fleming says he was watching television in his building on a side street just off Las Ramblas when he heard a noise and went out to the balcony to investigate.
The American living in the Spanish city says police arrived and pushed everyone a full block down the street. He says the officers still are there with guns drawn and riot police stationed at the end of the block.
Fleming says- “It’s just kind of a tense situation....”Clearly, people were scared.”
10:30 p.m. Police in Spain have confirmed there are fatalities after a van slammed into pedestrians in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district.
Catalan police tweeted that “there are mortal victims and injured from the crash” without specifying numbers. The Barcelona-based La Vanguardia newspaper is reporting at least one dead and 20 injured.
A van jumped the sidewalk in Barcelona’s iconic Las Ramblas area, slamming into pedestrians. At least five were seen lying on the ground on the popular tourist street.
El Pais newspaper, citing unnamed police sources, says the two perpetrators are holed up in a bar in central Barcelona. Various local media reports have called it a terror attack, but authorities haven’t officially confirmed it.
9:50 p.m. Spain’s El Pais newspaper says that Barcelona police are treating the van crash as a terror attack.
Authorities say a van mounted a sidewalk in the iconic Las Ramblas area of Barcelona, slamming into a crowd of pedestrians. Local media reports say there are several injured.
El Pais newspaper, citing unnamed police sources, also reported that the perpetrators are holed up in a nearby bar. Some local media have reported bursts of gunfire.
Barcelona police, in a tweet, told people to stay away from the center of the city because of a “large contingent of security forces and emergency services” deployed in the area.
9:40 p.m. Spain’s El Pais newspaper, citing police sources, says the two perpetrators of the van crash in Barcelona are holed up in a bar.
A van mounted a sidewalk in the popular tourist area of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, slamming into a crowd of pedestrians. Local media say several people have been injured in the crash.
Barcelona police, in a tweet, told people to stay away from the center of the city because of a “large contingent of security forces and emergency services” deployed in the area.
9:15 p.m. A white van jumped the sidewalk in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district on Thursday, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said.
In a photograph shown by public broadcaster RTVE, three people were lying on the ground in the street of the northern Spanish city Thursday afternoon, apparently being helped by police and others. Videos of the scene recorded people screaming as they fled.
Police cordoned off the broad, popular street, ordering stores and nearby Metro and train stations to close. They asked people to stay away from the area so as not to get in the way of emergency services. A helicopter hovered over the scene.
9:10 p.m. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city’s historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people.
In a photograph shown by public broadcaster RTVE, three people were lying on the ground in the street Thursday afternoon and were apparently being helped by police and others.
Police cordoned off the broad street and shut down its stores. They asked people to stay away from the area so as not to get in the way of the emergency services. A helicopter hovered over the scene.
Las Ramblas, a street of stalls and shops that cuts through the center of Barcelona, is one of the city’s top tourist destinations. People walk down a wide, pedestrianized path in the center of the street, but cars can travel on either side.
9:05 p.m. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city’s historic Las Ramblas district.
They say on their Twitter account that several people are possibly injured.
In a photograph shown by public broadcaster RTVE, three people were lying on the ground in the street and were apparently being helped by police and others.
Police cordoned off the broad street and shut down its stores
9:00 p.m. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city’s historic Las Ramblas district.
Police say on their Twitter account there are possibly several injured.
The El Pais newspaper said several people were left lying on the ground. Police cordoned off the street and shut down its stores.