Mollet's shooting may have been ordered from Ecuador due to a drug dispute.

Vilanova i la Geltrú / Mollet del Vallès / BarcelonaThe Parc des Colores in Mollet del Vallès was the last major work of architect Enric Miralles, inaugurated in 2001, a year after his death. It's a space designed to connect neighborhoods, which he achieves with sinuous cement structures, blue-painted floors, sand, trees, pergolas, water features (now defunct), and a grand staircase that presides over the space, designed for concerts and shows. It's a park that by day is filled with children playing ball, swinging, and chasing each other, and which, according to some residents, by night often brings together young people who make the most of the early morning. Last Friday night, the grand staircase, with modernist touches reminiscent of Gaudí, was stained with blood.

It was 12:30 a.m. when a motorcycle, apparently with two occupants, entered the park. Suddenly, one of them pulled out a pistol with a silencer and fired about ten shots. Three men were sitting on the steps. One shot was fired, another was shot in the chest, and the third had time to start running, but couldn't avoid a bullet hitting him in the back. The motorcycle disappeared, and the death toll was two critically injured and one less seriously injured. Finally, one of the young men died in the hospital. The method suggested an execution from the outset; the standard technique used in revenge among drug traffickers, often carried out by a hitman and planned in advance.

Sources close to the deceased indicate that the 30-year-old had recently arrived in Mollet, where his mother had lived for some time. The same sources indicate that he left Ecuador, his home country, because he had been having problems with drug trafficking, and that his murder could have been a response ordered by the Latin American country to these previous conflicts. Ecuador is one of the countries most involved in international drug trafficking, as many of the shipments contaminated with cocaine depart from its port.

The Mossos d'Esquadra investigation is ongoing. The police are taking steps, gathering as much information as possible about those involved and speaking with witnesses to clarify the cause of the crime. So far, no arrests have been made. Neighbors had never seen a shooting like this in Mollet. "It was scary to go back to the park the next day," says a father as his son rocks.

"Living on the streets kills."

A multitude of candles burn on a bench in Vilanova i la Geltrú, accompanied by mementos. An empty beer (of the brand he used to drink), an orange hat with the Barça crest (with which he always begged), an ashtray and a cigarette, a blurry photograph of himself, in which a smile can be seen, and messages denouncing that "living on the streets kills." He was only guilty of living rough on that bench after having lost everything and even suffered a stroke in the Czech Republic. "I love you, baby," he told a neighbor every day he saw him. "Eternal Messi," some young people have written with graffiti on the ground in the park to remember his passion for Barça or how he would get up imitating the Argentine footballer's dribbling despite having to use a crutch and having health problems. On September 11, two days before the Mollet murder, someone violently stabbed Milan, with several fatal stab wounds, in the park that had been his home for the past five years.

"When I arrived, he was my first friend," says Damian while begging outside a supermarket, also wearing a Barça shirt. He came from Poland, and AC Milan guided him through a difficult life on the streets. "Many people think they killed me, because we were inseparable," he explains, still shaken. No one understands what happened. "He was very peaceful, he had no enemies," insists Damian, and many other neighbors echo him. "He even urinated in the bins so as not to litter the park," says a neighborhood resident who gave him a cigarette every day. Some young people pass by on scooters and pause for a moment to remember him. Older people light candles to remind them of him. He was 50 years old, and now Damian is collecting signatures to have cameras installed in the park. Who killed him?

For the moment, the Mossos d'Esquadra have no clear answer. According to ARA, it doesn't appear to be a hate crime against the homeless, but rather points to a fight at night. Her body was found at 7:00 a.m., as the first neighbors were going to work. It happened in the early hours of the morning, and these days the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have been going door-to-door asking neighbors if they saw anything. They have also collected DNA samples from the victim's body, hoping for a match that will lead them to the killer. These have been complicated days in Vilanova. This week, another homeless man also died in Vilanova, a man of Estonian origin who had limited mobility. In that case, according to police sources, it was a natural death. In addition, this Saturday, a new homicide was recorded in the city: a cleaning worker found a body inside a suitcase next to a dumpster. Within a few hours, the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested a man as the alleged perpetrator of the crime.

This year, 42 homicides have been recorded in Catalonia, according to data to which ARA has had access. By August of this year, 37 homicides had been recorded, compared to 53 during the same period last year. And 2024 already closed with one fewer murder (68) than in 2023, when the country's record was reached. However, September has started in a particularly dark way, with five homicides in just a few days.

Planned attacks

Three minors were also passing the time on Monday, September 8, on a promenade near the Santa Eulalia metro station, on the border between Barcelona and Hospitalet de Llobregat. Suddenly, four young men (there could be more, but this is the main police hypothesis) appeared armed with knives. They were surprised, and everything pointed to a planned attack. The next day, traces of blood provided clues as to the crime. Badly injured, two of the three minors (the third was unharmed) ran for help, until one of them was lying on the ground, right at the entrance to the metro. A homeless person contacted by this newspaper saw it happen firsthand, and also saw how, a few hours later, the minor's father approached the scene.

According to this newspaper, people close to the deceased minor have told investigators that a fight had broken out about two months ago in a nightclub with another group, and that revenge could come from there. Now, the Mossos d'Esquadra are looking into the matter, although no arrests have yet been made. The conflict is believed to stem from Hospitalet de Llobregat, where most of those involved are from. There has been talk of gangs, but the police aren't working in that direction.

Homicide and sexual assault

Her name was Leidy Tatiana, and she was 37 years old. She had arrived in Catalonia from Colombia just weeks before. Hers was the first of the four crimes reported in September, and it was one of the cruelest: a man already arrested and with a history of sexual violence allegedly locked her in a tourist apartment in Lloret de Mar to sexually assault her and ultimately kill her. He then abandoned her naked in the apartment. The man cleaned tourist apartments, and the woman was a sex worker. The suspect took the victim's ID, but left his own behind, and a few hours later the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested him.

Police sources warn that homicide data must be observed over a long period, at least five years, to draw conclusions. They also warn that a bad streak like this September's means nothing. Between 2015 and 2019, there were 268 homicides, and between 2020 and 2024, 301 were committed. Catalonia has a rate of between 0.60 and 0.85 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, while in countries like France and Ireland, the rate is 1.

In fact, there are neighborhoods in various parts of the world where there are more homicides than in all of Catalonia. In Philippi East in Cape Town, South Africa, where no more than 100,000 people live, more than 60 are recorded every quarter. In the southern district of Los Angeles (175,000 inhabitants), the figures are similar to the homicides of a year in Catalonia. And we don't have to go that far: in Marseille, in 2023, around fifty crimes were recorded, many of them linked to the drug war.