“I am not afraid,” chants crowd in La Rambla as authorities mourn for the victims

As manhunt for last terrorist on the run is still underway, Barcelona continues to mourn for the victims. Catalan and Spanish authorities stood side by side on Saturday afternoon after offering flowers and candles in a mourning ceremony that took place in La Rambla, at the exact point where the terrorist attacker’s white van stopped after running over a crowd on Thursday.

The authorities who attended the ceremony include Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont; Barcelona mayor, Ada Colau; Spanish king, Felipe VI, and queen Letizia; and Spanish vice-president; Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

“No tinc por,” (I’m not afraid) chanted the crowd when the authorities left. As mourners keep bringing tokens of sympathy all across La Rambla, the street has become an open sanctuary; the circle formed by candles, flowers and messages of support has widened so much that it now completely covers a ground-mural by the Catalan surrealist artist Joan Miró.

A service for the victims will take place on Sunday morning at 10am in Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s worldwide famous basilica by the Catalan modernist architect Antoni Gaudí. Barcelona’s archbishop and cardinal will lead the mess, which will be open to the public and will be translated to italian, english and french.

Key suspect on the run

Catalan police is still searching for Younes Abouyaaqoub, the last-standing member of the terrorist cell responsible for this week’s deadly attacks in Catalonia. Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan national, is suspected to be the driver of the white van that run over a crowd in La Rambla on Thursday afternoon.

The 12-jihadist group who killed 14 dead in Barcelona and Cambrils are believed to be organized in two different terrorist cells, according to investigators. It is also suspected that they were supported by a third cell: for this reason, Catalan police does not consider the terrorist group to be dismantled yet.

Nine victims identified

So far, authorities have formally identified 9 of the 14 victims of the terrorist attacks, including two Portuguese, an Italian, a woman with Argentinian and Spanish citizenship and two US citizens. Authorities in Canada and Belgium have confirmed they have citizens among the casualties, although their bodies have not officially been identified yet. There are also 3 people with Spanish citizenship among those identified.

Twelve in critical condition

There are also 54 people still in hospital, 12 in a critical condition. Of those, 50 are in Barcelona and 4 in Cambrils. Among the injured still in hospital, people from 22 different countries, including 13 French and 5 Germans.