Thousands of locals and tourists gathered in the center of Barcelona on Friday to pay their respects to those killed by observing a minute's silence. King Felipe the sixth led the commemoration. And as CGTN's Dan Williams reports, the silence was soon followed by defiant clapping and chanting.

 

A moment to reflect. Thousands had gathered in Barcelona's main square, Placa de Catalunya to observe a minute's silence and remember those killed in the terrorist attack. Led by the King of Spain, King Felipe, and joined by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, the silence soon erupted into a lengthy applause. An eruption of noise and defiance. That was followed by chants of No tenim Por! - or 'we are not afraid.'

 

"Of course it is a moment to respect victims and give support to family and friends that are suffering. And I think our message today in Barcelona even under shock is that we want to keep being a city of peace of tolerance and democracy and human rights." Among those making a clear stand against the atrocities, members of the Muslim community who have been quick to denounce the attack. 

 

TARIK ATA RAFI COMUNIDAD MUSULMANA AHMADIA "We should condemn this and it is also our responsibility to inform people that Islam and the true Islamic teachings and the holy Koran do not support in any manner the actions of these people."  

 

Las Ramblas, the scene of the attack, reopened early in the morning. The various bunches of flowers dotted along the pedestrianized area act as a grim reminder to the atrocity.  Many visitors, unable to contain their emotions. Others realize just how lucky they were to escape.   

 

OMAR BARCELONA ATTACK EYEWITNESS  "On the faces of all the people that we saw, it was just terror. Across the board, everyone that I saw was afraid and shocked and scared of what happened. A lot of people did not know exactly what was going on besides the fact that everyone was getting injured and everyone was scared so naturally we were just trying to run out of there as quickly as we could."   

 

DAN WILLIAMS BARCELONA "As locals and tourists alike pay their respects to the victims of these attacks, there remains a sense of unease and anger. But without doubt, the over-riding feeling amongst many people here is unity and defiance. Dan Williams CGTN Barcelona."