The teenager shot dead by police at Gran Canaria airport after allegedly threatening holidaymakers with a knife has been named and pictured.
Gambian Abdoulie Bah, who reportedly also attacked and tried to rob a taxi driver, was shot five times at the Canary Islands airport on Saturday.
Video footage of the chaotic scenes has now emerged and shows the young man running at one of five Spanish National Police officers trying to stop the 18-year-old as members of the public sprint for cover.
It’s then thought he tried to attack the officer’s colleagues who appeared to be warning him to desist. Shortly after shots were fired and he was killed.
According to court officials, one of five bullets struck him in the neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sources at a Gran Canaria football club called Lomo Blanco, where he spent two seasons, described him as a ‘very calm nice boy’ who had a smile for everyone.
He was combining his studies with part-time work as a translator at a youth centre.
Friends of Bah said they were shocked to hear what happened.
Sheriff Seedou, who went to Abuko Upper Basic School in The Gambia, with him, said: ‘Abdoulie was an exceptionally intelligent student during our time at Abuko Upper Basic School.
‘He was very close to me, not just in friendship but in spirit. Calm, kind, and non-violent, he had a welcoming presence that I’ll never forget.
‘When I joined Abuko, knowing no-one in those first few weeks, it was Abdoulie who welcomed me warmly and helped me settle in.
‘He was also a talented football player, very skilful, we used to call him “Figo.”’
Sheriff said the pair parted ways after finishing junior school, as they moved to different secondary schools, but reconnected on Facebook last year.
‘We exchanged contacts and caught up on life. He told me he had moved to Spain, and I shared that I was furthering my studies in Malaysia.
‘We motivated each other and picked up where we had left off years ago.
‘When I lost my father last December, Abdoulie was one of the first people to reach out. He sent me heartfelt words of comfort and urged me to stay strong.’
The teenager is thought to have migrated to the Canary Islands as a 13-year-old.
Before Saturday’s incident, he allegedly tried to board a flight to The Gambia, but was turned away after airport staff saw his ticket was for a flight on Thursday.
It’s said he then attempted to force his way through airport control, setting off a security scanner due to the knife he apparently had in his rucksack.
Ibon Dominguez, a spokesman for police union Jupol, called the officers’ response to the incident ‘proportional and congruent’.
He added: ‘The man with the knife could easily have ended the lives of one of those policemen.’
The Canary Islands High Court of Justice said in a statement: ‘A duty court in Telde has been investigating the circumstances in which a person who was shot by the police died on Saturday in the airport area.
‘At the moment the court is compiling the images of the multiple camera recordings from outside and inside the airport in order to establish a reconstruction of the events.
‘The man was shot five times, including once in the neck.
‘The videos show that the deceased was apparently out of his mind and carrying a large knife and after attacking a taxi driver he felled a police officer and tried to knock down another, and was wandering around armed in an area with a large number of people, creating a real danger for their physical integrity.
‘He was 18 years old.’
The frightening incident happened the day before thousands of residents on the Canary Islands took to the streets to protest against mass tourism.
They gathered on the seven main islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife,Fuerteventura, El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera and Lanzarote yesterday.
