Catalonia registers six deaths by shooting in almost three months

BarcelonaSix people shot dead in three months. This is the balance of the latest firearm incidents in Catalonia that greatly worries the police. The first was registered at the end of March during a shooting in a music bar in Badalona and the latest took place this Tuesday in the upper part of Barcelona, coinciding with the visit of Pope Leo XIV. The second to last, however, was two days ago, this Sunday in the Zona Franca. On the same street, in fact, there was a new shooting execution fifteen days earlier.

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This Tuesday, ten minutes before ten in the morning, at the intersection of Balmes street and Granada del Penedès street, in the upper part of Barcelona. The terraces were full and an office for issuing National Police IDs and passports was already open. Suddenly, a shot was heard. There was a rush and witnesses explained that they had hidden inside the premises. A man dressed in a dark sweater with a Barça t-shirt sticking out and wearing shorts lay on the ground, bleeding. He had just been shot in the head. There was only one shot. Another man, wearing a beige t-shirt, also in shorts, with a bicycle helmet in one hand and a pistol in the other, fled down Granada del Penedès street towards Via Augusta.

The cameras of the National Police recorded the moment and provided a clear image of the gunman. The Mossos d'Esquadra are already investigating this new crime in Catalonia, the second shooting execution in three days, which coincides with the visit of Pope Leo XIV to the country. According to various sources consulted by ARA, after the crime, the alleged perpetrator of the events arrived at a bus stop in Plaça Gal·la Placídia, one of the busiest spots in the city. There, as this newspaper was able to record, he abandoned his bicycle helmet. Beneath it was the pistol. The Mossos also found a mobile phone there, which they are checking to see if it belongs to the suspect.

For the moment, they continue searching for the gunman and the police have not yet identified the victim, a middle-aged man who was not carrying identification. The investigation has just begun, but due to the nature of the homicide, the police are looking into whether it could be linked to organized crime. However, the Mossos completely dismiss any connection to the pontiff's visit to Barcelona.

Illa and Collboni opt to toughen sentences

The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, also pointed to a possible link between Wednesday morning's events and organized crime, although he urged caution. The mayor stated that "more police are needed." In statements to Betevé, Collboni assured that they are following incidents like this "with concern" and also called for "stricter penalties regarding arms possession and drug trafficking."

The same was done this Thursday by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa. In an interview with Ser Catalunya, he explained that the Government is studying the "possibility" of requesting harsher penalties for arms possession "as soon as possible." He also opened the door to requesting tougher punishment for drug trafficking "if necessary," with the non-negotiable objective of "reducing criminal acts to zero." While admitting that the toughening of the Penal Code is not within the Generalitat's competence, the president emphasized that the Government can "work to make it happen" and that these requests could arrive "sooner rather than later."