The ‘Freddy Krueger’ of Barcelona strikes again

Barcelona’s own “Freddy Krueger” has done it again.

In February, a video showed a dozen law enforcement officers arresting an individual who was about to attack passersby with blades he had attached to his hands.

This week, the same man was seen in the historic neighborhood of El Raval, blandishing a large sword and attempting to conceal his identity with a motorcycle helmet.

Let’s hope he doesn’t cause a major disaster one of these days

Catalan police officer

On February 17, a pedestrian with a cellphone caught the police operation against “Krueger,” so named after the villain in the Nightmare on Elm Street movie franchise.

The individual in question is a familiar face to the local police, who say he is a corpulent young man with mental health problems who turns violent when he has an “episode,” according to one officer on the Ciutat Vella beat.

There have been several attacks in recent times, all of them ending with the man being tackled by officers and sent to a mental health center. But the same sources said that he is soon discharged. “He is okay for a few days, then the problems return.”

Both the Mossos d’Esquadra regional police force and the local Guardia Urbana have filled out dozens of reports about the man, who lives near a police precinct and is “under the care of someone who does not look after him.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t cause a major disaster one of these days,” said one officer, noting that it is very easy to find the man near Peracamps hospital.

English version by Susana Urra.