The city’s deputy mayor, Albert Batlle, admitted officials are “taking measures” just hours after yet another stabbing happened. Mr Batlle urged citizens to remain calm and insisted authorities will roll out more police to fight the crime crisis. The serious stabbing happened in the Poblenou neighbourhood when a fight between two men left a 40-year-old man in critical condition.
A man was seriously injured at dawn on Wednesday in the Sant Martí district of Barcelona when he was stabbed during a fight, reported Mossos d’Esquadra, the regional police.
The attack occurred around 1 am in Pamplona street, and the wounded man was transferred to a hospital in Barcelona.
But his life is not in danger, according to Catalan police, who opened an investigation.
Two other men were wounded with a knife in the Barcelona district of Ciutat Vella on Monday night and early Tuesday.
There have been seven violent deaths in the space of 40 days, caused by fights and shootouts in the Catlan capital, according to the Spanish newspaper, El País.
They also report: “There were also three stabbings in a little over 24 hours.
“So far this year, 11 people have been violently killed in the Catalan capital, a figure that already surpasses the mark for all of last year (10).”
The same newspaper reports a nine percent rise in crime in Barcelona so far this year.
JUST IN: Barcelona officers shoot knifeman who stormed police station
The Spanish official also said vacant builds used by drug users “have practically disappeared” thanks to the latest operations.
Yesterday in four so-called ‘narco-flats’ were inspected and five people were arrested.
This month Spain’s Costa del Sol was also rocked by violence after a man was filmed appearing to have slit another man’s throat.
Tourists could be seen looking on as the man shouted and waved on a balcony, while a man with a towel wrapped around his face stood next to him, blood pouring from his neck.
The local Town Hall said in a statement: “In the port of Duquesa, local police officers intervened, avoiding a tragic situation, saving the life of a Serbian citizen, who had been threatened with death by a fellow national.
“The victim, blindfolded, and stained with blood, was held by the aggressor on one of the balconies overlooking the port, in front of astonished neighbours.
“The officers immediately tried to calm the aggressor down, who was waving a knife in a threatening manner.
“While an officer was trying to convince him, her partner gained entry to the house and reduced the aggressor.”