The motive for the hate crime moves away from the attempted murder burning two homeless people in Barcelona the night of the verbena of Sant Joan. Aggressors and victims knew each other and were in the same situation of social exclusion, a condition that would distance the fact that the aggressor did it out of aporophobia, for hating poor people and wanting to exterminate them, as has happened in other cases. The rapid arrest of the alleged perpetrator was achieved because the victims and a witness managed to identify the latter as the perpetrator: they knew each other. They were regulars at the Baluard venipuncture roomin the Raval of Barcelona.
As El Periódico has learned, the Mossos went to the scene, the corner of Drassanes Avenue and Cervelló Street, minutes after the incident. LD and M.A usually sleep there, surrounded by a blanket and other personal belongings. She is a 33-year-old Italian womanand he, a 34-year-old Pakistani manaccording to police sources.
The couple had several burns on their bodies, and at first they explained that they knew who had tried to burn them alive: it was a French man whom they knew from frequenting the venipuncture room. While the agents took statements from the victims, who were later treated at a primary care center, they already saw the suspect. There was fled from the place and stopped at Dolors Aleu square, in front of the narcosala. He had a lighter and both the two victims and a witness credited him, before and after his arrest, as the author of the attempted murder.
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normalized violence
The Arrels Foundation, specialized in serving homeless people in Barcelona, yesterday condemned what happened. According to his calculations, close to half of the city’s homeless people (46%) have experienced violence. One figure, which they presume, is much higher since many victims believe that the attacks are “normal” for people without a home. “Having to live on the street is a risk all year round: the cold, the heat, the aggressions, thefts… are direct and indirect violence that homeless people face all year round“, maintains the entity. The attacked couple already has consequences for life, and it is unknown if they are still in the same place or if the town hall has offered them a place to spend the night and not have to relive the fear of dying burned.