The weapon confiscated by the police in Palma.

The weapon confiscated by the police in Palma. | Local police

Humphrey CarterGuillermo EstebanPalma18/01/2025 10:07
TW
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Palma Local Police have arrested a man who was armed with a revolver and threatened several officers in Palma’s Plaza España: “If I catch you one by one, I’ll blow your heads off”. The suspect, a 20-years-old Spaniard, is accused of a crime of threats and serious disobedience to the agents of the authority. The events took place at 6.30 a.m. on 15 January, when officers from the Integrated Security Unit (USEI) who were patrolling the area were alerted by a woman who identified herself as a National Police officer. The officer reported that she had observed a man wandering around the square with suspicious behaviour and that he had approached a woman in a strange manner.

The local police officers located the suspect and upon approaching him saw that he was arguing with a taxi driver. Officers questioned him and observed that he had a cut to his face and traces of dried blood. The young man displayed a hostile attitude from the outset and threatened the officers: “If I catch you one by one, I’ll smash your heads in”.

He then refused to provide his documentation and offered resistance to the police intervention, and was arrested. The officers searched the suspect before placing him in the patrol car and located a two-inch revolver with three detonated cartridges among his clothes. The young man was taken to a health centre to receive medical attention and continued with his aggressive behaviour, threatening the medical staff. He has since appeared in court and been released.

It has been recently reported that Aragon, the Canary Islands and the Balearics are the autonomous communities with the highest increase in crime up to the third quarter of 2024, which recorded a generalised rise in Spain of 1.2% compared to the same period the previous year. The only regions to record decreases in crime are La Rioja and the Community of Madrid, as well as the autonomous city of Melilla, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior consulted.

In Spain, drug trafficking offences increased by 3.2%, while serious and less serious offences of assault and battery and affray rose by 8.4%. Crimes against property fell by 2.1%, including robbery, theft and vehicle theft - all these crimes represent 43.2% of conventional crime. The total number of criminal offences recorded in the period from January to September 2024 totals 1,854,283 incidents, of which 1,506,876 (81.3% of the total) correspond to the category of conventional crime, which presents a variation of 0.9% over 2023.