by Gan Chun
BARCELONA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- In Ripoll, a small Spanish town situated at the French border, residents are shocked to learn that the terrorists who killed 14 and injured over 100 in two gruesome attacks in the region of Catalonia once lived among them.
At least seven members of the gang of 12, all teenagers or in their early twenties, were from Ripoll, about 100 kilometers to the north of Barcelona with a population of around 11,000.
A small gathering was held Saturday evening at a small square in the town center to commemorate the victims of the attacks, in which the suspects rammed their vehicles into pedestrians in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, and in the Cambrils beach resort hours later.
The attendees held up several cardboard plates with the Spanish phrase of "Not in my name" written on them.
After observing a minute of silence, people chanted "No to terrorism," while several women bursted into tears and leaned on each other.
Families and friends of the suspects were among the mourners, including the mothers of two key suspects.
"Please let him know that I'd rather have him in prison than dead," Hanou, mother of 23-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub, who is still at large, told reporters, with tears running down her face.
Some people have made her son "crazy" to do something this terrible, she said, adding that her son told her he was going to Germany for holidays, and did not appear acting differently in the past months.
Halima, the mother of Mohammed Hychaml, who was among the five suspects shot dead by police in Cambrils, said her son told her the same story. "His last message to me was that he was lying on the beach with friends."
Abouyaaqoub's cousin told Spanish media that he was possibly influenced by an extremist religious preacher named Abdelbaki Es Satty, who is now being sought after by the police.
The pregnant sister of 17-year-old Moussa Oukabir, also killed in Cambrils by police, broke down after hearing the news and had to be sent to the hospital, according to an acquaintance of the family.
His father told British newspaper Daily Mail that Moussa was "undoubtedly manipulated."
"We are ordinary, peaceful people. We do not know anything about radicalism or terrorism. Moussa lived like all other young people of his age," he was quoted as saying.
Jordi Munell, mayor of Ripoll, could not understand what these young people did either.
"Everybody knows each other here. People are devastated," he said, adding that Moussa even participated in a local program to prevent social exclusion of children.
All seven suspects from Ripoll came from families of Moroccan descent, but were seen by their families and friends as fully integrated, speaking fluently both Spanish and Catalan, and had never spoke of extremist thoughts.
When asked if the attacks have changed the relations between natives and migrants, people in Ripoll gave different answers.
"I'm definitely a little worried after what happened," said a high school student who passed by the town center.
"Not everyone is the same, you know," a woman denied she would see her neighbors with migration backgrounds differently. "They have been living here for many years and we never had any problem."
The Spanish government on Saturday decided to maintain its anti-terrorism alert level at 4, the second highest, ruling out the possibility of an imminent threat.
Tourists have been returning to popular tourist destinations in Barcelona and Cambrils since Friday.
But it remains unknown when Ripoll will resume its peaceful life as a tiny border town.
