Soccer hooligan behind PM attack

The young man who assaulted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during a campaign event in Pontevedra on Wednesday is Andrés V. F., a 17-year-old high school student and member of a hooligan group in the Galician city.

The police said that the assailant has not shown any signs of regret for punching the conservative candidate in the face.

"He kept insisting that he was very happy about it and that he would do it again," said one source.

He looks like an unfocused young man who is not very aware of what he has done"

The police also revealed that the suspect has no criminal record but belongs to Mocidade Granate, a radical fan club attached to the Pontevedra soccer team that "is not excessively violent."

Through his social media accounts, Andrés V. F. had already expressed his long-held desire to attack a Popular Party (PP) branch.

The young man studied at a private elementary school called Los Sauces and now attends high school. His father works for the Chamber of Commerce and his mother is a workplace counselor, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

"He looks like an unfocused young man who is not very aware of what he has done," added the same sources.

The suspect faces charges of attacking a prime minister, which entails prison terms of up to six years. But being under age, this penalty is likely to be significantly reduced.

Spain is holding general elections this Sunday.

English version by Susana Urra