Shock , disbelief among neighbors of Barcelona suspect

World
Europe

Police in Spain raided homes in a small town near the Pyrenees mountain, searching for the young man suspected of killing 13 people in an attack in Barcelona.

Flanked by family and friends, the mother of Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspect in the attack, grieved in Ripoll’s main square.

This is a tight-knit and well-integrated community, now filled with sadness and confusion.

“These kids were from good families. They weren’t drunk kids, they don’t do that sort of stuff,” according to one resident. “They worked hard, but someone bigger than them has come and eaten these children. They couldn’t have done this on their own.”

CGTN Photo

Maria Alba Martinez worked alongside 18-year-old suspect Said Aallaa at the Canaulas cafe. When she heard he’d been killed in a shootout with police, she was devastated.

“They were very good lads, very responsible workers, very good work mates,” Martinez said. “He was an intelligent guy, he wanted to study robotics at a university. He was a really good football player and very well loved, very helpful. We don’t understand what happened.”

But in addition to sadness, anger is also present. As police led three people away on Saturday, residents gathered to jeer at them.

Police are moving in on the terrorist cell, which is thought to have included nearly a dozen people. As the manhunt continues, this town in the remote foothills of the Pyrenees has become a focal point of the search.

Authorities raided the flat of a local imam who residents say disappeared a month ago. Police are reportedly trying to confirm his body as the one found in the wreckage of the alleged bomb factory in Alcanar.