For a moment we had the hope that he was alive in a hospital, but the barbarism of terrorism also rages with the little ones. Unfortunately, Julian Cadman, the seven-year-old Australian boy who was missing, is one of the thirteen fatalities of the Barcelona attack. Julian was walking with his mother on La Rambla when he was hit by the van at high speed and died on the spot. His mother was injured and was transferred to a hospital, where he remains serious but stable.
The death of the child was confirmed a few hours ago in the Twitter account of the General Directorate of Civil Protection of the Generalitat. Yesterday the Mossos claimed that the boy was on the list of victims and wounded, but did not give more information about his status until he waited for the father of Australia to arrive.
Although by protocol they cannot give names yet, they confirmed the death of the minor, making known the nationality of the victims identified:
3 victims + #Barcelona attack identified:
- EmergènciesCatalunya (@emergenciescat) August 20, 2017
1 Australian minor (with dual British nationality)
1 Italian person
1 Belgian person
They considered him missing
At first it was believed that the child, who has dual British and Australian nationality, was missing after the attack, a version that the Mossos denied in a tweet saying that "we neither search nor have we found any missing children".
Now they understand the information they gave about the child, with the greatest prudence about his status, to respect the family. The father was notified from the first moment, but they did not give the fatal news waiting for it to land in Spain.
3:00 pm We neither looked for nor found any missing child in the attack in Barcelona. Victims and injured are located
- Mossos (@mossos) August 19, 2017
You are many who ask for specific information about the Australian child. The communicative priority on victims and injured is to family members
- Mossos (@mossos) August 19, 2017
Knowing nothing about the boy, his grandfather Tony Cadman, a British resident in Australia, hung up his picture and sent a message of help through social networks, thinking he was missing. There was so much conflicting news and the case was so mediatic that even the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, asked that they pray for the lost child.
"He was so energetic, funny and daring, always bringing a smile to our faces. We were blessed to have had him in our lives, and we will remember his smiles and keep his memory in our hearts," says his family in a statement.Julian is the second child (a three-year-old boy also died) identified so far between fourteen fatalities of the terrorist attacks suffered last Thursday in Barcelona and Cambrils. A truncated happy childhood and a family broken by the damn terrorism. Our respect and love to parents.
In Babies and more | Nightmares, anger, fears: how the news of the attack can affect a child and how to help him
