Lafayette Man Killed in Barcelona Terror Attack

Updated at 2:30 p.m. PDT

Friends of Jared Tucker, the Lafayette man reported missing after Thursday’s terror attack in Spain, have confirmed that he was killed in the incident.

Noe-Marie Claraty, who said she was acting as a spokeswoman for the family, told KQED that Tucker, 42, had been killed during the attack in which a suspected terrorist drove a van through a crowd on Las Ramblas, a popular tourist street in Barcelona.

Jared’s father, Dan Tucker, told NBC Bay Area on Friday that his daughter-in-law, Heidi Nunes-Tucker, had identified her husband’s remains at a morgue in Spain.

Heidi Nunes-Tucker said they were having drinks just before the attack, when her husband said he was going to the bathroom.

“Next thing, I know there’s screaming, yelling,” Nunes-Tucker told NBC. “I got pushed inside the souvenir kiosk and stayed there hiding while everybody kept running by screaming.”

Early Friday, Claraty shared a statement with KQED from Heidi Nunes-Tucker in which she asked for privacy and to “hold the family up in prayer.” Claraty said the family would likely issue a formal statement on Saturday.

Billy Claraty, Noe-Marie’s husband and a close friend of Jared Tucker since high school, told KQED that he learned of his death early Friday from Heidi Nunes-Tucker’s family.

Jared and Heidi married in August 2016, Claraty said, and had been visiting one of his friends who lives in Spain. Tucker had been a devoted husband and “was so happy that he had her in his life,” he said.

“He loved his wife more than anything in this world,” he added.

Tucker grew up in Walnut Creek and worked in the family business of pool resurfacing, Claraty said.

“He is one of the most hard-working people I know. He really took pride in his work, being the best that he can be with family and friends and in his job,” he added. “He gave his all to everything he did.”

Claraty also described Heidi Nunes-Tucker as “incredibly strong.” “She’s dealing and doing well, given the terrible circumstance,” he said.

Tucker and his wife were celebrating their honeymoon in Barcelona, Tucker’s sister, Tina Luke, told The Associated Press. The couple had saved up for the trip to Europe, she added.