Reus, Another City Affected by the Wave of Violence in Catalonia

The city of Reus joins the list of Catalan municipalities hit by a concerning increase in urban violence. Last Saturday morning, the Sant Josep Obrer neighborhood was the scene of a violent clash between two family groups, involving the use of knives and brass knuckles, which left several injured and ended with seven people arrested, according to police sources.

The brawl took place in the Mas Abelló area, specifically in the Mare de Déu de les Angústies passage, and required the intervention of several patrols of the Mossos d'Esquadra and ambulances from the Sistema d'Emergències Mèdiques (SEM). The arrested, four men and three women aged between 23 and 59, are accused of offenses of injury and participation in a tumultuous fight.

Although the origin of the conflict is still under investigation, authorities point to personal disagreements between two Roma families that may have led to an open confrontation in the middle of the public street. Shouts, insults, and assaults with blunt objects and knives forced the rapid intervention of security forces to contain the situation before it completely spiraled out of control.

After being separated by the police, several of those involved had to be treated for injuries of varying severity before being taken to the police station.

Catalonia on Alert Due to the Surge in Violence

What happened in Reus is not an isolated incident. Recently, Catalonia has experienced a concerning wave of violent episodes, ranging from mass brawls to assaults with weapons and violent robberies. Municipalities like Reus, Barcelona, Sant Cebrià de Vallalta, L'Hospitalet, or Mataró have reported serious incidents that reflect an escalation of insecurity increasingly difficult to ignore.

Residents, associations, and local authorities are beginning to raise their voices to demand greater police presence, improvements in crime prevention, and structural measures to curb this growing trend.

Altercations like the one experienced next weekend in Reus create a climate of tension and uncertainty among citizens, who see how violence becomes normalized in environments that until recently were considered peaceful. In light of this reality, the narrative of "perceptions" has been definitively buried.