A seven-year-old boy from Sydney is still missing after being caught up in the deadly terrorist attack in Barcelona as police continue to search for at least one suspect believed to still be at large.
It’s thought seven-year-old Julian Cadman was separated from his mother, Jom Cadman, when a white Fiat van ran down pedestrians on the Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people and injuring 130 before fleeing.
Spanish police say the driver of Thursday’s van attack may still be alive and on the run and are hunting for Moroccan-born Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22.
A man previously reported as the key suspect, Moussa Oukabir, 17, was one of
five men killed by police after a later attack in Cambrils, west of Barcelona, in the early hours of Friday morning (local time).
The men drove an Audi A3 at speed down a promenade in the resort town but crashed the car, prompting them to get out and attack onlookers with knives and axes.
A woman was critically injured and later died in hospital, while five other people and one police officer were also injured.
Police shot dead five suspects in the hit-and-run including Moussa Oukabir, El Houssaine Abouyaaqoub, 19, Said Aallaa, 19, Omar Hychami, 21, and Mohamed Hychami, 24.
Julian’s mother is in a serious but stable condition in a Barcelona hospital. She and her son had flown to Spain to attend a friend’s wedding this weekend.
The boy’s father, Andrew Cadman, is flying to Barcelona on Friday evening to search for his son and care for his wife.
“I think we should all in our quiet moments say a prayer for that little boy,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggested to Australians at a Tasmanian Liberal Party Conference on Saturday.
“All of us as parents know the anguish his father and his whole family is going through as they rush to seek to find him in Barcelona,” Mr Turnbull said.
Mr Cadman’s boss Scott Bowman told News Corp the father of the boy was a “bloody mess” after learning of the Barcelona attack at 6am Friday while listening to the radio at work.
“He said, ‘I better ring my wife and see if she’s all right’. He couldn’t get on to her,” Mr Bowman said.
“All that we’ve been told is that she is in a serious condition, she has got multiple fractures everywhere — arms, legs, severe facial injuries. She has suspected spinal injuries and possible internal injuries,” Mr Bowman said of Ms Cadman’s condition.
Ms Cadman is among four Australians injured in the attack, including two young men from Victoria who were hit by the car, but received only minor injuries and were quickly discharged from hospital.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the twin attacks in Barcelona and the coastal town of Cambrils, 120 kilometres away, but the terrorist organisation’s involvement has not been verified.
Police believe an earlier house explosion in Alcanar, 200 kilometres away from Barcelona, is also linked to the attacks and the men had been planning more sophisticated attacks that may have claimed more lives.
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