Spain’s National Police arrest over 50 people after disturbances in Madrid

The National Police in Madrid have arrested more than 50 young people allegedly involved in disturbances, robberies and violence in the capital.

The National Police in Madrid arrested 55 young people at dawn this Sunday morning, October 10, during a massive street party that had been held again for the second consecutive week in the Parque del Oeste de Moncloa. Throughout the morning, Samur (the specialised emergency system of Madrid) had treated a young victim for stab wounds, attended to two sexual assault victims, and applied stitches and anti-biotics to nine people that were wounded by broken bottles, according to Emergencias Madrid.

Saturday night had been especially violent, numerous personal robberies have been reported among the hundreds of adolescents who came to drink- summoned by Telegram and WhatsApp messages- with the slogan “Botellón en Moncloa”.

This time, the deployment of plainclothes officers from the National Police and officers from the Information Brigade made it possible to arrest many of those involved in the assaults on young people. Many had been separated from their groups or who were in grasslands far from the main nucleus of the ‘macro bottle’. Crowds of young people danced and drank through the early hours to the rhythm of reggaeton- easy targets for the criminals.

Those arrested are charged with public disorder, injury and theft. Most of those arrested for robbery are Moroccan or of Maghreb origin and are linked to gangs that are dedicated to assaulting young people who come to drink- there are several minors among those arrested.

Around four in the morning, the riot police charged the crowd with rubber balls against dozens of young people who were still drinking and the most serious incidents have taken place inside the Parque del Oeste. The police used force to put an end to the most violent groups that came to tear off traffic signs and throw stones at the Police.

The deputy mayor of Madrid, Begoña Villacís, warned that the ‘macrobotellones’ not only risk the spread of Covid-19 but also that “gangs” that are going to “steal and fight.”

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