Spain – A van crashed into dozens of people in the center of Barcelona on Thursday and Spanish media said at least two people were killed.
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The ramming took place near two kosher restaurants in the Las Ramblas shopping area: Yehuda Hamaccabi and Maoz Falafel.
Police have called the deadly ramming a terror attack, but there is no immediate indication the proximity to the kosher restaurants was relevant.
Soon afterwards, Spain’s El Periodico newspaper reported that two armed men were holed up in a bar in Barcelona’s city center, and reported gunfire in the area, although it did not cite the source of the information.
It was not immediately clear whether the incidents were connected.
Police later confirmed that there are fatalities without specifying numbers.
“There are mortal victims and injured from the crash”, Catalan police tweeted. The Barcelona-based La Vanguardia newspaper is reporting at least one dead and 20 injured.
Following the van crash, emergency services said people should not go to the area around Barcelona’s Placa Catalunya, one of the city’s main squares at the top of the famous Las Ramblas avenue, and requested the closure of nearby train and metro stations.
El Pais newspaper said the driver of the vehicle had fled on foot after mowing down dozens of people.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he was in contact with authorities, and the priority was to attend to the injured.
Rabbi Meir Bar-Hen, Barcelona’s chief rabbi, tells Channel 2 in a telephone interview that he was informed by police that the terror attack in the city’s Las Ramblas street was not directed at Jews.
He says he plans to cancel community activities and is headed to Las Ramblas to see if his services are needed to help the dead or wounded.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said no Israelis are known to be among the wounded or killed in the attack. Officials emphasize that not all the injured are identified, and that may change.
The incident took place at the height of the tourist season in Barcelona, which is one of Europe’s top travel destinations with at least 11 million visitors a year.
While full details of the van incident were not immediately clear, vehicles have been used to ram into crowds in a series of militant attacks across Europe since July 2016, killing well over 100 people in Nice, Berlin, London and Stockholm.
Witness Ethan Spibey told Britain’s Sky News: “All of sudden it was real chaos. People just started running screaming, there were loud bangs. People just started running into shops, there was a kind of mini-stampede where we were, down one of the alleyways.”
He said he had taken refuge with dozens of other people in a nearby church.
“They’ve locked the doors because I’m not sure whether the person who may have done it has actually been caught, so they’ve locked the doors and told people just to wait in here.”
Amazing. America has gone so low under the Mad Hater that ISIS terrorists now copycat our nazi terrorists in Charlottesville. How low will he take us before the GOP gets a courage transplant and gets him OUT.
Rarely do I pick out a poster, but this has gone too far. Don’t know who this poster Hashomer is, or for that matter if it is even one person or multiple. After the misery that Palestinian terrorists have inflicted all these years (decades actually) on Jews, especially in Israel, with vehicles in multiple forms (rammings to explosive laden), and ISIS supporters doing the same in Europe, this Hashomer poster has gone way over the line in implicitly denying those facts by implying this is a new invention, and blaming Trump for it to boot.
Hashomer is psycho and needs to be banned from this site.
BTW, the President just tweeted the following: “The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!”
Both sides have some very fine people, very fine. So sad this fine people killing each other. So very sad. Violence has no place in the Universe. All kind of violence. Both sides.
To all of my detractors and supporters on VIN. I’m completely sane, educated, literate.
My family came from Russia-Poland and Galitzia in 1880 via steerage. We’re all professionals, successful, and Zionist. Members of my family and wife’s family fought (and some were killed) in the war against the nazis, and fascists in Japan. A dear Aunt was sent to Aushwitz at age 16 and married my uncle, a G.I. in a DP camp. My posts in VIN are a reflection of my love for this country and my hatred of the alt right and the emasculated Jews who love this disgusting president. -HASHOMER
It’s clear that the reason this happened in Spain is that all the holy Admors sh’lita are in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, etc.(for “menucha”) and are thus keeping those countries safe. Not a single one in Spain.