Spanish police on Monday killed a man who could be Younes Abouyaaqoub, the alleged driver of a van that mowed down crowds in Barcelona, a source close to the probe said.
"They have shot dead a suspect who could be the perpetrator of the attack," the source, who declined to be named, said.
The Spanish media reported that the 22-year-old Moroccan-born Younes Abouyaaqoub, the man responsible for killing 15 people and injuring more than 100 others by driving a white van into crowds of tourists and locals in a central Barcelona pedestrian area was either arrested or killed during an operation.
The Catalan police have not confirmed the reports but said an operation to capture the suspect was underway in Barcelona.
Aboyaaqoub is believed to have stopped a car and used it to force a police roadblock. The car was found on the outskirts of Barcelona with its owner's body in the back seat.
Moroccan Aboyaaqoub is "dangerous and could be armed," the Mossos d'Esquadra Catalan police said on Monday. Minister Forn said he was being hunted "in all European countries."
In a series of tweets in Catalan, Spanish, English, and French, police released four pictures of the suspect: an ID headshot that had already been released, along with three pictures where he is wearing a striped polo shirt.
