Night of riots in Lleida: six Mossos d'Esquadra officers injured by throwing objects and beatings with sticks and iron bars
The officers had gone to the Mariola neighborhood after receiving calls about a fight with 200 people.
BarcelonaA mass brawl in Lleida tonight led to clashes and confrontations with the Mossos d'Esquadra, with six officers injured, according to reports. The Case and Catalan police sources confirm to ARA. The incident occurred in the Mariola neighborhood, west of the city's historic center, and is currently under investigation. At the moment, there are no arrests, according to the same sources.
It was shortly before midnight on Monday when the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) received calls warning of a "tumultuous" fight on Júpiter Street, in which up to 200 people were allegedly involved. Two ARRO units, made up of a total of ten officers, were dispatched to the scene. When they arrived, the police found no fight, but a tense atmosphere.
According to Mossos d'Esquadra sources, the officers simply observed and waited for the crowd to leave when, at a certain point, a group of people began throwing objects, such as bottles and stones, at them. Finally, this group allegedly attacked the police officers and attacked them using, among other things, wooden sticks and iron bars.
The result was six Mossos d'Esquadra injured, four of whom required stitches, while the other two suffered bruises. One of the injured remains under observation at the Arnau de Vilanova Hospital. At the time of the riots, the Mossos d'Esquadra received support from several units of the Guardia Urbana (Urban Guard), although all units eventually withdrew to reduce tension and treat the wounded.
A "spot fight"
No further incidents were reported in the neighborhood for the rest of the night. The Mossos d'Esquadra are now investigating the incident, and, according to Cristina Morón, deputy mayor of Lleida and councilor for security, speaking on RAC 1, action will be taken against those involved for bodily harm. Morón described the situation that night as a "one-off fight" and refused to refer to it as a "troubled neighborhood." She did admit that the incident took place in a specific area where incidents had occurred in the past and assured that the City Council is working on an urban, community, and social strategy to improve its security.
In a message on the social network X after the news broke, the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, expressed her support and "recognition of the professionalism" of the injured officers and her "strong condemnation of the attitudes of those who break the rules of coexistence" in a tweet.
