Wounded a minor of 10 years by a stray bullet in a shooting in Badalona

BarcelonaA 10-year-old girl was shot and injured this Sunday evening in a shooting in the Sant Roc neighborhood of Badalona. The Mossos d'Esquadra received the alert around 7:15 PM, when several people reported hearing shots near Còrdova street in the municipality. As reported by RAC1 and confirmed by police sources to ARA, when the Mossos arrived at the scene, they found shell casings on the ground. As a result of the incident, a minor was taken to the hospital in a private car after being hit by a bullet in the arm. She sustained a minor injury and the Mossos d'Esquadra stated that she is out of danger.

The Catalan police have verified that it was likely a ricocheting bullet not intended for her, according to the initial hypotheses they are working with, and they cannot yet confirm if she is a member of one of the families involved in the events. The head of the Metropolitan North region of the Mossos d'Esquadra, Antoni Sánchez, stated that "the most probable" cause is that the shooting is related to drug trafficking. In statements to Catalunya Ràdio, Sánchez explained that they are "well on their way," with investigations "well-oriented," and with "full confidence" that the events can be clarified "quite quickly." For now, however, there are no arrests.

The mayor of the city, Xavier García Albiol, explained to El Matí de Catalunya Ràdio that the street where the shooting took place is home to "very problematic" families linked to drug trafficking and stated that everything points to it being "a fight between gypsy clans" that ended in shots "for drug-related reasons." The popular politician also criticized the Spanish government in a social media post because he believes it refuses to amend laws that, in his opinion, allow for incidents like those that occurred this Sunday evening in the Badalona neighborhood. Albiol assured Catalunya Ràdio that with the current legal framework it is "impossible" to combat organized crime and repeat offending. He also criticized these "regulatory limitations" and called for a reform of the Penal Code to combat "these problems that concern mayors and the police."

The mayor said that security in the city is improving, but that there are areas in Sant Roc, and in Badalona, where there are still "serious security problems", and where residents are "afraid". For their part, the head of the Metropolitan North region of the Mossos d'Esquadra explained that the Sant Roc neighbourhood is an "operational priority", not because of recent events but "much earlier". He added that what happened this Sunday is a "serious and exceptional event, which requires an exceptional response" and assured that any use of a firearm in a public place is "intolerable". After the shooting, the police force deployed agents from the anti-riot unit of the Operational Resources Area (ARRO) to the scene to reinforce security in the neighbourhood.