Man suspected of stabbing Barcelona woman to death kills himself before arrest

A man suspected of stabbing a 26-year-old Spanish woman to death in an attempted robbery in Barcelona in early September killed himself on Thursday as he was about to be arrested by the Catalan regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra.

The other man who took part in the robbery handed himself in to authorities

The incident took place on Thursday night in the San Roc de Badalona neighborhood of Barcelona.   According to sources close to the case, the murder suspect shot himself after dozens of Mossos surrounded the block in which he was located. The Mossos have opened an investigation to clarify what happened, and an autopsy is also pending.

Officers had been looking for the man since September 5, when a woman died after being stabbed in violent attempted robbery at a nightclub called Smar in Port Olímpic. Security cameras from the nightclub recorded what happened. At 3am, the woman was alerted by a witness to the fact that two men were trying to steal her cellphone. The woman turned to a security guard, who reprimanded the two thieves and kicked them out of the nightclub. As the security guard was escorting them out, one of the men stabbed him in the abdomen and then the 26-year-old in the chest. Both stab victims were taken by ambulance to Hospital del Mar, where the woman died minutes later.

The two suspects fled the scene without being detained, but were identified the next day as locals from the San Adrià del Besòs neighborhood, thanks to the security camera footage. The other man who took part in the robbery handed himself in to authorities on September 12. After taking his statement, a judge ordered he be placed in pre-trial custody.

A security guard was also injured in the violent robbery in early September

According to police sources, the murder suspect committed suicide on Thursday night after realizing he was about to be arrested.

So far this year, 13 people have met with a violent death in Barcelona, and police are still investigating the death of an elderly couple inside their home in August.

There were 49,300 crime reports between January and March in Barcelona, half of which were for theft. But the biggest cause for concern is the rise in violent theft (28%), representing around 40 cases a day.

English version by Melissa Kitson.