This teacher is searching for her missing husband, Jared Tucker, following the van attack in #Barcelona https://t.co/JLJrn8VR59 pic.twitter.com/YrvaAfOKbT
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 18, 2017
Early reports indicate that a Bay Area man is among the dead in Thursday's terror attack in Barcelona in which a man, reportedly an ISIS terrorist, drove a van into a crowded shopping district in the early evening.
The San Francisco Chronicle tells us that 42-year-old Lafayette resident Jared Tucker was vacationing in Spain with his wife Heidi Nunes-Tucker in celebration of the couple's one-year wedding anniversary. Just before the attack, Tucker left his wife to go find a restroom while Nunes-Tucker continued shopping. The pair became separated in the chaos and when she couldn't find her husband, Nunes-Tucker went from hospital to hospital trying to locate him.
While desperately searching for her husband, Nunes-Tucker told NBC News about her experience during the attack. "Next thing I know there's screaming, yelling. I got pushed inside the souvenir kiosk and stayed there hiding while everybody kept running by screaming, and then the police eventually made us evacuate," she explained.
On Friday she was called to identify his body, though some news outlets still claim Tucker is among the missing. Others say he was 43-years-old and/or living in Walnut Creek. The US State Department will only confirm that one American was killed in the attack and another American was injured.
Tucker's nephew Paul Luke offered details on a Reddit thread (according the the Gate), saying "My mother is boarding a flight tonight to be with (Tucker's) wife tomorrow... Jared's burial wishes were to be cremated, but that cannot be done until the investigations have finished. My mother and his wife will be in Barcelona for an undetermined amount of time until final arrangements can be made."
In the Reddit thread, Luke posted photos of his uncle before the attack in a blue shirt and khaki shorts, along with photos after the attack of a man in the same outfit lying bloodied in the street.
According to KRON 4, Nunez-Tucker didn't know her husband was dead until agents from the FBI showed her pictures of the victims. KRON also has an interview with Tucker's dad, with whom he owned a pool business based out of Martinez. "It's hard to understand," he said.
"To everyone who helped call, translate, find phone numbers, and physically visit hospitals I am grateful. Amidst terrible sadness, the people of Barcelona came out in droves to help us," said Luke.
At least 13 people died in the attack that injured at least 100. The incident occurred at around 5 p.m. local time Thursday when a van, allegedly driven by a member or supporter of ISIS, drove onto a promenade in central Barcelona and plowed into hundreds of people. Here're the basics from CNN.
You may recall that Barcelona is a sister-city to San Francisco.
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