Knife-Wielding Man Attacks Officer At Police Station In Spain

A man armed with a knife charged an officer at a police station near Barcelona early Monday in an attack that authorities are investigating as a terrorist incident.

The man, identified in Spanish media as Abdelouahab Taib, reportedly approached the station in the town of Cornella de Llobregat at 5:52 a.m. local time and rang the intercom. When an officer opened the door, the man lunged at her with the knife, shouting "Allahu Akbar," according to the BBC.

The officer opened fire, killing Taib.

Police Commissioner Rafel Comes said the man had a "clear intent to kill," according to the BBC. He added, "For now we are treating it as a terrorist attack."

The Spanish government's representative in Catalonia, Teresa Cunillera, said in a radio interview that authorities have not determined a motive for the attack. "Reaching conclusions is very hard before they have carried out the minimum of checks and looked into the motives," she said, according to the BBC.

Police stations across Spain have been put on alert because of Monday's incident, according to Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police force.

Taib is a 29-year-old Algerian who had been living in Spain for several years with foreign identity documents, according to El Pais.

The attack comes just days after the anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the resort town of Cambrils that left 16 people dead and more than 100 others injured.

Police say at this stage there is no evidence linking those attacks with the incident on Monday.

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