The family of the man who was yesterday shot dead in Cornellà after entering a Mossos d'Esquadra police station armed with a knife and shouting "Allahu Akbar", has mooted reporting the Catalan police force for "alleged negligence". The family's lawyer, David Martínez, has told El Nacional the officer's actions "were not proportional or justified" because the man was only armed with a knife.
Lawyer David Martínez after meeting with Taib's family at their home / EFE
Martínez, who this morning met with Taib's former partner for approximately an hour in the home they shared, has completely rejected any possibility the incident was a terror attack because during the search "neither explosives, nor weapons, nor even any note explaining what he would do were found".
Cadena Ser later reported a seven-line handwritten note had been found. It included religious expressions calling on God's wisdom and greatness to help him and give him strength. The channel reports it reads, in part: "God, if you know this matter is a curse for me, in my religion, in my life and in my destiny, distance me from it and give me your blessing wherever you are".
According to the lawyer, the man was going through a difficult time in his personal life around his separation from his wife, Luciana. They had signed their divorce last Tuesday and he had to leave their flat.
He plans to ask for the case to be transferred from the National Audience to a court in Cornellà as the appropriate venue if it is not related to terrorism.
The attacker, Abdelouahab Taib, a 29-year-old Algerian with a NIE, a number required by foreigners residing in Spain for various bureaucratic purposes, arrived at the police station shortly before 6am yesterday, saying he wanted to ask a question. He rang the intercom and, when they opened the door for him, he "rushed" an officer, police say, whilst saying various sentences in Arabic of which they only understood the words "Allahu Akbar". The agent reacted by opening fire.
The incident was quickly put under investigation as a "terrorist attack". Yesterday afternoon, the Catalan interior minister, Miquel Buch, said it was an "isolated event" against police by someone who did not belong to a cell.
Officers questioned Taib's former partner, who told them that he had repeatedly expressed an intention to commit suicide for fear of being repudiated by the Muslim community for being gay. As reported by Cadena Ser, his wife apparently discovered his sexuality leading to them starting divorce proceedings. Taib, for fear of being shunned by his community, said on various occasions he wanted to end his life. Police aren't discounting the possibility that he intended yesterday to "provoke" them to kill him.