Police and Terrassa Residents Rage at Mayor After Two Shootings

It had to happen sooner or later. Saturday's deadly shooting and the subsequent vendetta hours later have highlighted what police and residents have been denouncing for some time in Terrassa. The city, governed by the PSC with a soft approach, has become a nest of crime and degradation.

It all started on Saturday night when some individuals opened fire from inside a car at a Latin nightclub in Terrassa. A man died from the gunshots. Hours later, there was another shooting at a barbershop, resulting in one person injured.

Both incidents were carried out by Dominicans, so the police are investigating it as a settling of scores. The second shooting was allegedly a vendetta for the first attack. 

It is a reflection of what is happening in Catalonia, with organized crime running rampant and homicides being a daily occurrence. But it also highlights the rise of crime in Terrassa, which the authorities systematically deny, attributing it to mere perceptions. Municipal police, residents, and the local Vox group have raised their voices against the unsustainable situation in the municipality.

Municipal Police Criticize the Mayor

The union section of Local Police and Mossos d'Esquadra (SPLCME) in Terrassa reacted to the events with several messages. They criticized the political leaders for turning a deaf ear to their demand for more officers on weekends because "they say it's not justified." 

They have also directly addressed the mayor, Jordi Ballart. They asked him "if it's normal for the head of the municipal police not to show up in Terrassa on such a complicated weekend." They also denounce that he has better conditions and exclusive dedication, but "takes all afternoons off." 

This tweet from the union sums it all up: "Two serious incidents today with firearms, one of them fatal. Keep listening to those who never leave their office and rejecting our proposals."

"Surely they will downplay the events. They will say they are isolated incidents, that Terrassa is a safe city, blah, blah," they added.

Vox Warns of a Drug War

Social media have also been filled with messages from residents, tired of the crime that prevents them from living a normal life. It is a situation that has been dragging on for some time but has exploded just now with these latest events. Residents are demanding urgent measures from the mayor, whom they accuse of denying reality and acting with a soft hand.

This weekend's two shootings add to the one on February 22, and everything seems to point to a drug war. This has been warned by the Vox leader in Terrassa, Alícia Tomàs, who has accused the PSC of "filling our streets with imported scum." She also reproached the mayor for, instead of ensuring security, "calling me racist and filing one complaint after another for telling the truth."

Neither the mayor nor the Terrassa city council have commented on the matter so far.

The local government of Jordi Ballart (PSC) recently pursued attempts by some residents to organize into citizen patrols. The mayor said that this threatened public safety and reminded that the monopoly on violence is held by the police. Now he is exposed by the police tweets after the shootings.