Police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.
Police officers in Barcelona, Spain, are looking for at least one suspect after a van crashed into a crowd of pedestrians in a tourist-heavy district, leaving several people injured and some dead, multiple outlets are reporting.
The Catalan police have confirmed the incident is a terrorist attack, and have confirmed multiple fatalities. It's unclear how many suspects the police have identified, but multiple outlets, citing the local police, are also reporting that multiple people have barricaded themselves in a bar near the site of the crash.
The police said a white van mounted a sidewalk and struck several people on Plaza de Catalunya, a popular square in Barcelona. The Spanish-language newspaper El País said the driver of the van fled on foot after "mowing down" dozens of people.
"In touch with all authorities, priority is to attend to the wounded and facilitate the work of first responders and police," Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey tweeted.
"All of a sudden, I just sort of heard a crashing noise and the whole street just started to run, screaming. I saw a woman right next to me screaming for her kids," Aamer Anwar, who was walking on Las Ramblas, a pedestrian-heavy street near Plaza de Catalunya, at the time of the crash told Sky News.
"Police were very, very quickly there, police officers with guns, batons, everywhere," Anwar said. "Then the whole street started getting pushed back."
"Police officers who got there just started screaming at people to move back, move back," Anwar added.
Another witness, Steven Turner, told the BBC that he saw "three of four people lying on the ground" after the van "rammed" into people.
"There are lots of ambulances and armed police with assault rifles around now," Turner added.
Catalan emergency services have asked to close public transportation in the area of the crash, and they are asking people to stay out of the area.
The Spanish National Police have asked bystanders not to share photos of the crash out of respect for the victims.
Pictures show emergency services responding:
Sky News has video of the incident, which the reporter described as "pandemonium."
A Twitter user also posted a picture of what appears to be the van:
Here's a map of the area:
Videos show armed police officers looking for the person or people responsible for the crash:
This is a developing story.
Police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. Read Full Story
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