Shooting and social media incitement
Police have detained a 19-year-old man in Lleida after a violent incident on Sunday night in which two people were injured by shots from an air-compressed pellet gun. The attack occurred at a shop on Carrer Girona, during a series of disturbances linked to tensions in the Parc Sobre les Vies area. According to the Mossos d'Esquadra, regional police, a group of youths began verbally attacking and threatening a man of Indian origin, who took refuge in a supermarket. The group then damaged the shop’s property, and one of them – later identified as the 19-year-old suspect – fired around ten shots into the premises with a pellet gun, injuring two men.
Identification via social media livestream
Police say they identified the suspect after a citizen alerted officers to a livestream on social media in which the user encouraged violence against people of Pakistani and Indian origin, as well as against Mossos officers. Authorities viewed the livestream and recognised the man from a prior incident the previous week. Victims provided screenshots from the livestream to support their complaint, which helped confirm the suspect’s identity.
The incident is part of ongoing tensions between local shopkeepers of South Asian origin and a group of youths, following multiple reported robberies at these businesses.
Arrest and release with charges
The suspect was arrested on Thursday morning and appeared before the Lleida duty court. He was released the following day on provisional bail, with charges including assault, public disorder, property damage, threats, and incitement to violence. A 15-year-old boy was also arrested on Sunday in connection with the shop attack.
The investigation remains open as police work to identify and apprehend others involved in the disturbances. To date, 13 people have been arrested in connection with the incidents in Lleida.
Reported by lamanyana.cat, Marc Guasch Ferreiro, segre.com, CatalunyaPress.cat, EFE, Lleida.com, CatalunyaPress.es, elmundo.es, Mayka Navarro, La Mañana.
