In August of 2013, Barcelona, Spain a van sped through a popular destination location in the city, plowing through crowds of people. The van traveled a distance of approximately 2000 feet, zig zagging along his course of travel in order to hit pedestrians and cyclists–killing 14 people and injuring 120. The airbag system in the van deployed, causing the vehicle to shut down. The attacker fled and proceeded to hijack a car, stabbing and killing the driver as he fled.
Police eventually caught up with the attacker and shot him dead. It was learned that he was part of a terrorist cell. Together they coordinated multiple attacks in the area. The group was associated with ISIS, who took responsibility for the attacks. The youngest of their victims was just 7 years old. The terrorist organization had previously called on violence against countries in the anti-ISIS coalition, of which Spain is a member.
