Police injured as knife-wielding man arrested in Spain

MADRID – A man was arrested after he held a large knife against his abdomen and shouted “Allahu Akbar” — “God is Great” in Arabic — at a busy Spanish frontier with Morocco, authorities in the Spanish enclave of Melilla said Tuesday.

Video released by Spain’s National Police showed agents encircling the man, who wore shorts and a T-shirt and walked slowly. In the surveillance camera footage, a police officer throws a large plastic bollard at the man, who falls over before other officers subdue him.

One of the officers was treated after he received a small cut to one finger, Spain’s Interior Ministry delegate for Melilla, Abdelmalik El Barkani, told reporters at a news conference.

Authorities said the incident happened at 7.35 a.m. at the Beni Enzar access to the Spanish territory in northern Africa, as hundreds gathered to cross the border.

The man, believed to be a 29-year-old Moroccan citizen, was arrested and brought to a police station where he was questioned.

El Barkani said that the investigation into the incident is still open and all hypotheses are being considered.