Police are still investigating the motive of the assault, but a National Court judge is investigating it as a possible act of terrorism. The suspect is believed to have acted alone.
Officers searched the as-yet unnamed suspect’s home to “determine the nature, terrorist or otherwise,” of the alleged crime, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said.
The suspect is a Moroccan citizen with no prior criminal record “either in Spain or any other country,” the interior ministry said. The suspect had been under a deportation order since June last year due to his unauthorized migrant status in Spain.