Looting in 14 shops in Barcelona and nearly a hundred arrested

A gathering of around 600 youths led to looting, barricades, and fires in the centre of Barcelona. The Mossos d'Esquadra arrested nearly a hundred people, a quarter of whom were minors.

The Mossos d'Esquadra arrested about a hundred youths for their alleged involvement in the disturbances that occurred this afternoon in the centre of Barcelona. According to the Department of Interior, a quarter of those arrested are underage.

The incidents began around 6:00 PM in Plaça de Catalunya, where at the peak moment, around 600 youths gathered. The gathering was not communicated or organised, and its call circulated on social media. The Councillor of Interior, Núria Parlon, indicated that the protest was unrelated to the camp for housing access that has been set up in the same square for weeks.

The vandals looted and damaged 14 establishments in the centre, including electronics, clothing, footwear, and optical shops. Additionally, they set fire to street furniture and terrace awnings and erected barricades with containers, motorcycles, and bicycles.

The Guardia Urbana closed access to the square, from Plaça Urquinaona to Universitat. Shops in the area, including El Corte Inglés, lowered their shutters and, in some cases, reinforced their windows with wooden planks. Hundreds of customers were trapped inside some stores until they could exit, sometimes through back or emergency doors.

The Renfe station in Plaça de Catalunya and the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat station were also closed, meaning trains did not stop at that point. The Mossos d'Esquadra urged citizens not to approach the area.

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, condemned the destruction in a message on X:

“Violence has no place in Catalonia.”

For his part, the president of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated that the disturbances demonstrate that Spain needs “a change,” and called for coexistence.

The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, announced that the Barcelona City Council will become a party in any judicial proceedings that arise. He warned that the disturbances “will have consequences” for both adults and the parents of the minors involved.