A 25-year-old died man on July 29 at the main Hospital Insular de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, after a fight at a shopping centre, at the top of the west hill overlooking Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria in the municipality of Mogán, having spent 13 days in an induced coma before being pronounced dead. The Guardia Civil has opened an investigation to try to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators of the fatal attack. Locals say the dead man was well known as a violent trouble maker and drug dealer, and that his attacker was too and has now fled to Morrocco.
On July 16, around midnight, in the well-known commercial space on the south of Gran Canaria, according to the sources consulted, the victim was involved in a fight where one or more people began to give him a brutal beating that caused severe head trauma.
The victim was transferred in the first instance to the San Roque de Maspalomas Hospital to later be referred to the Insular Hospital, where he was admitted with suspected brain death. His vital signs were maintained until his death was confirmed on July 29 due to the seriousness of the injuries he suffered, as specified by the same sources.
At the time of the fight, agents of the Guardia Civil and the Mogán Local Police went to the shopping centre to investigate the identity of the perpetrator of the attack. The first on the scene took control of proceedings and began to collect evidence from witnesses and other evidence with the aim of locating any clues that could lead to identifying the aggressor.
Other sources indicated that so far there have been no arrests related to the case, which is directed by the Investigating Court number 1 of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
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Workers at the commercial and leisure centre have been trying for months to discourage problem characters from approaching holiday makers around the popular bars and live music venues, after various complaints were repeated on social media, and at least one major venue has even gone to the expense of hiring professional security teams to ensure their family-oriented bars and restaurants remain safe and comfortable for their clients, keeping troublemakers firmly outside their premises.
One source, who did not want to be named, clearly identified the dead man claiming that he was prone to violence, calling him a “scumbag who’s been terrorising people here for years” alleging that he got into a fight with another of the street drug dealers, well known in the area, who has since fled back to his country of origin. The alleged suspect was, according to witnesses, seen stamping on the head of the man now deceased. The Guardia Civil presumably has all of this information already, as it appears to be quite common knowledge. Certainly the individuals involved were well known to police, though several sources say that the policing of such individuals is too often “a joke” as even when an emergency call is made it can take 15-20 minutes before anyone appears on the scene, by which time most problems have moved on. The local mayor, O. Bueno, has been repeatedly informed of serious problems up at that particular centre, as have local law enforcement.
The local police, and the Guardia Civil, seem to be powerless to stop large groups of intimidating men from giving some local leisure centres a very bad name. Very occasionally this can spill over into violence.
Though there is no specific evidence that this death was connected to drug dealing in the centre, there are many who suggest that the situation has too often been allowed to get out of control, harming the image of the place and local businesses.
Ex-owners of businesses there tell us they were constantly being offered large amounts of money to allow drug dealing to occur in the premises, part of the reason they left to set up elsewhere, and though they never accepted such bribes they suspect that others might have.
No one should feel intimidated or threatened in our holiday resorts, and anyone who has concerns about being approached by strangers in such places are urged to properly report any potentially criminal behaviour through the main emergency telephone number 112
