Catalan police defy criticism to back officer who shot knife attacker

The Catalan police have "no doubts" about the reaction of  one of their officers to being attacked in the Cornellà de Llobregat police station, near Barcelona, on Monday at 6am.

Armed with a knife, the assailant "aggressively" leapt on the officer who opened the door for him, with a "clear intention" to kill, according to the police. The officer shot him dead after giving him "warnings," says the head of the Mossos d'Esquadra Catalan police, Andreu Martínez.

"The police attitude was correct, proportional, appropriate, coherent," said Martínez, who claims that the assault was of "extreme seriousness" and that the officer was left with no alternative.

"After carrying out all police procedures, it is not pleasant, but she had to shoot this individual," he said on Tuesday afternoon.

Family considers suing police

The remarks come only shortly after the attacker's family made it clear that they are considering suing the police force for shooting their relative dead.