A dozen arrested for clashes between minors and merchants in Lleida
The mayor points out that the conflict between a large group of young people and residents of the Pakistani and Hindu communities has become entrenched.
BarcelonaFive people, four of whom are minors, have been arrested since Friday following several altercations recorded this past weekend in Lleida. The city's mayor, Fèlix Larrosa, explained this Monday that the police do not rule out further arrests, and has attributed the origin of the incidents to personal conflicts between a large group of young people, mostly between 14 and 17 years old, and traders and residents of the Pakistani and Hindu communities.
According to Larrosa, the young people allegedly staged several violent episodes, including mobile phone robberies and thefts in establishments. The mayor attributed the clashes to personal conflicts and a group dynamic that, as he said, ends up targeting communities that often do not report incidents. Thus, he stressed that it is not an attack between communities, but acts by a group of young people against a vulnerable group: "These are serious acts that must be investigated to the end. We must act decisively with those responsible".
The municipal government met on Monday with the commanders of the Guàrdia Urbana and the Mossos d'Esquadra, and with neighborhood associations to address the mass brawl on Saturday night, in the area of the park covering the train tracks, in the Balàfia neighborhood, and other isolated clashes recorded on Friday and Sunday. According to the mayor, the police are investigating the incidents and have identified several minors, most of whom, he assured, have a record, although minors under 14 years of age, who are not criminally responsible, could also be involved.
Given the accumulation of violent incidents, the mayor of Lleida has announced a special security operation in the park area over the tracks, affecting the neighborhoods of Balàfia, Pardinyes, and El Clot, to prevent further clashes between the two groups. On Monday night, the first day of this deployment, seven more people were arrested after a demonstration in which about 150 people from the Pakistani community participated. According to the police, when the demonstration dispersed, a group of about 20 people remained, some armed with sticks and bladed weapons, who refused to leave, and then the Mossos made the arrests for disobedience and public disorder.
The police will maintain the operation in the coming days. In addition, the Mossos d'Esquadra will strengthen their work with the Pakistani community in the coming days through the body's Office of Relations with the Community (ORC), in order to find solutions to the conflict that has arisen in this part of the city.
Patterns of violence
Two of the detainees from Friday, minors, were released the next day and, according to Larrosa, subsequently participated in the mass brawl on Saturday. In this confrontation – which took place at the roundabout located between Rosa Parks and Sant Ruf avenues in Lleida – about fifty people from the Pakistani community participated, who, according to the mayor, intended to "intimidate" the young people to try to put an end to the attacks and robberies.
The police also arrested an adult on Saturday, who is awaiting judicial proceedings, accused of a crime of intentional homicide in the attempt stage for injuries. He is a merchant, and a victim of multiple thefts. On Sunday, the Guàrdia Urbana arrested two more minors for a robbery and an assault in a premises. The minors are mainly Spanish and Moroccan. "I am the first to demand more force at all levels, but in no way should episodes like the one that has occurred be used to stigmatize or dehumanize entire communities," said Larrosa.
Junts and the PP had already called on the Paeria to reinforce security measures. On the one hand, Junts advocates for strengthening community policing, especially in areas and time slots with more incidents, improving coordination between the Guàrdia Urbana and the Mossos, and specifically addressing episodes of youth violence. The party also proposes using technological tools to detect incident patterns and anticipate conflicts.
On the other hand, the PP has accused Fèlix Larrosa's government of allowing a situation of "lack of control and insecurity" and has demanded an "urgent" shock plan, with more police presence and prevention measures. The leader of the opposition, Xavier Palau, said that Lleida is becoming "a lawless city." In the same statement, Palau linked insecurity with immigrant communities and called for "urgent filtering," in statements in which he also spoke of people with "primitive and medieval behaviors."
