128 Arrested in Violent Barcelona Riots, 72 Are Minors
Of those taken into custody, 72 were minors, police said. Fourteen officers were hurt, four of them seriously, and a municipal police officer was also injured. Authorities identified about 450 people during the operation to contain the unrest.
The disorder began near Placa Catalunya, where roughly 500 young people assembled for a protest organized online by an anonymous platform. The group had urged demonstrations in major Spanish cities to demand better educational conditions, spreading the call chiefly through TikTok, Telegram and WhatsApp.
Authorities said the crowd quickly turned violent. Participants set 31 rubbish containers ablaze, put up barricades and hurled objects at riot police. At least 23 businesses were vandalized or looted, and street furniture and vehicles were also damaged.
Barcelona City Council put the damage to public street furniture alone at a minimum of €36,000 ($40,330).
Emergency services logged about 450 calls linked to the disturbances, and firefighters attended 33 fires in public areas. Police filed 68 administrative reports after seizing bladed weapons, sprays, balaclavas, pyrotechnics and other items.
Silvia Cata, chief commissioner of Catalonia’s regional police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, said officers were caught off guard by the “extreme violence” of those involved. She described them as a disorganized group of very young people who split into small clusters to carry out vandalism and looting.
Some participants were younger than 14, she said, meaning they fall below the age of criminal responsibility in Spain.
Cata said police are monitoring social media and working with law enforcement agencies elsewhere in Europe to trace how the calls to protest spread and to identify those behind them.
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