A 20-year-old boy was arrested for setting fire to a 17-year-old girl in Las Palmas.

BarcelonaPolice have arrested a 20-year-old man for setting fire to a 17-year-old girl early Wednesday morning in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The victim suffered injuries to 95% of her body and, due to her critical condition, was transferred to a specialized hospital in Seville. Some sources indicate that the two young men were a couple, but this information has not been confirmed by the Canary Islands government.

It is known, however, that the attacked young woman was under the guardianship of the Canary Islands' protection system and, according to official sources cited by the Efe news agency, had escaped from the center where she had been residing a few days earlier. Officials from this service had reported that the young woman had not returned, and yesterday, Tuesday, they again made a new request for a search to the police.

The Canary Islands Emergency and Security Coordination Center reported that the two young men were inside a building and received a call at around 4 a.m. that a fire had broken out. When they arrived, officers found the girl already on the street. The victim was taken in critical condition to the Doctor Negrín University Hospital of Gran Canaria and was later evacuated to the burns unit of a center in Seville due to the serious injuries she suffered over almost her entire body.

Emergency teams also confirmed that the boy also had burns and symptoms of smoke inhalation. The alleged attacker was also treated by medical personnel and taken to the hospital, where he was arrested.

In recent years, the number of underage women victims of gender-based violence has increased by 28%, while it is also noted how, especially among adolescents and young people, they tend to minimize the seriousness of aggressive behavior towards their partner or friends, influenced by anti-gender and neo-sexist discourses amplified by ultra groups.