The Mossos d’Esquadra arrested three men on Wednesday night who allegedly stabbed Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona player Lamine Yamal, at nine o’clock in the evening. The attack occurred on Frank Marshall Street in the Rocafonda neighborhood of Mataró after the victim was involved in a prior incident with the three suspects in the afternoon. On Thursday morning, the Mossos reported a fourth arrest.
The victim was admitted to the Can Ruti hospital in Badalona. His initial prognosis was serious, as he had two stab wounds to the abdomen. By midnight, the patient’s condition had improved, and he was out of danger and stable. He is expected to be transferred to a ward on Thursday.
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The first incident of the afternoon prompted the intervention of several patrols from the Mataró municipal police. In fact, some Rocafonda neighbors recorded the incident on their mobile phones. According to Mounir Nasraoui himself, who spoke to the responding officers, he was peacefully walking down the street when three individuals confronted him and threw water at him.
Some clips from that first incident have gone viral on social media, featuring images recorded by neighbors that correspond to Wednesday afternoon’s incident, as confirmed by La Vanguardia from sources aware of the investigation.
The event was preceded by a first fight between the victim and three neighbors from Rocafonda
The incident involved the intervention of local police patrols and was resolved there. Now, the Mossos d’Esquadra investigation unit from Mataró has to determine whether the two stab wounds that Lamine Yamal’s father received later, around nine o’clock at night, are – as they suspect – related to that first incident.
For no apparent reason, and with the victim unable to respond or defend himself, Nasraoui received two stab wounds to the abdomen, and the assailants fled the scene on foot.
Munir Yamal, father of player Lamine Yamal, poses at the ”el Cordobés” Bar in the Rocafonda neighborhood of Mataró, in a photo from last July.
Several witnesses alerted emergency services by calling 112, and patrols from both the municipal police and the Mossos d’Esquadra quickly arrived, along with a medical ambulance from the Medical Emergency Service (SEM) that transported the victim to Can Ruti hospital, where he was admitted urgently.
With the initial information provided by the municipal police patrols related to the afternoon incident, the Mossos who took over the investigation began their work.
Some neighborhood residents told La Vanguardia that Rocafonda was blocked off by uniformed and plainclothes police, who by 10:30 PM had already detained three suspects in the assault.
Alejandro Echevarría, early morning Thursday, at Can Ruti
At 11:30 PM, the Mossos d’Esquadra communications office sent out a statement confirming the incident and the arrest of the three suspects, who are accused of attempted homicide.
The victim remained at the hospital early Thursday, accompanied by a brother, who stayed in constant phone contact with Lamine Yamal during the first hours. Representatives of the Barcelona player also traveled to the hospital in Badalona, receiving calls from the club’s management to offer support to the family.
Access to Can Ruti began to fill up with media starting at midnight to report on the latest developments concerning the player’s father. However, the hospital did not issue any medical report while waiting to agree with the family on whether they wish to disclose the information.
In the early hours, several family members of Nasraoui arrived, including Alejandro Echevarría, the right-hand man of president Joan Laporta, representing Barcelona. The police investigation remains open and is being handled by the Mataró court on duty.
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