A PAKISTANI national who attacked a McDonald’s restaurant in Catalunya with an axe on March 27 said that he did so after having seen a video in which Palestinian children died.
“Today I saw a video where they were killing Palestinian children and that’s why I attacked the McDonald’s, because it is North American,” Hamza Warid told the police in English, according to a report in Spanish daily El Pais.
According to his statements, he carried out his actions in revenge for the United States’ support for Israel’s war in Gaza, which has reportedly cost the lives of around 300,000 Palestinians, half of whom were children.
He also told the authorities that he expected to be shot dead by police, and that he was prepared to die for his cause.
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The attack took place in Badalona, on the afternoon of March 27. Warid left his apartment and headed to the Magic shopping mall in the city, carrying an axe.
Before he made his journey, he had sent a farewell video to his family in Pakistan.
Police searches of his home revealed that he had for some time been consuming jihadist propaganda and had been taking steps to take action.
Security video footage of the attack shows that Warid sat looking at the McDonald’s restaurant for around 45 minutes.
He then wrapped a Palestinian scarf around himself at around 7.30pm, before taking an axe to the windows of the restaurant.
He was stopped by an off-duty policeman from the regional Mossos d’Esquadra force, as well as a private security guard.
While the crime was not initially thought to be terrorism related, the discovery of jihadist material in his apartment saw the case kicked up from a Badalona court to the national High Court in Madrid.
The Mossos are still investigating Warid’s past and whether he planned any other actions, according to El Pais.