Two men suffered serious injuries in separate assaults in central Madrid in the early hours of Saturday. A 19-year-old Moroccan man was stabbed in the back during a confrontation on Calle Carretas, near Puerta del Sol. Outside the Colonial nightclub on Paseo de la Florida, a 26-year-old Spanish man suffered a traumatic brain injury in a violent altercation.
Police sources said the stabbing near Puerta del Sol took place at about 6 a.m. Witnesses reported that the victim approached a woman, prompting her boyfriend to intervene. The confrontation escalated, and the boyfriend allegedly drew a kitchen knife and stabbed the man in the lower back, near the left kidney. Officers arriving at the scene found the weapon hidden behind a column and arrested the suspect, a 24-year-old Peruvian man with a criminal record. Samur-Protección Civil medical teams treated the victim at the scene, then took him in serious condition to Hospital Gregorio Marañón.
About half an hour earlier, emergency services had been called to the Colonial nightclub near Príncipe Pío. A man who was reportedly intoxicated and had recently been ejected from the venue became involved in a dispute with a group of young people outside. During the confrontation, a 20-year-old Spanish man struck him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement. Police found the injured man unconscious and bleeding from the ear. He was intubated at the scene and taken to Hospital Clínico with a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury. The alleged attacker was detained on suspicion of causing serious bodily harm.
The incidents took place at separate locations in central Madrid, roughly 30 minutes apart. One involved a knife attack near Puerta del Sol; the other followed a confrontation outside a nightclub near Príncipe Pío. Emergency crews treated both injured men at the scenes before transferring them to hospital. Other parts of Spain have also faced disruptive emergencies, including the recent severe hailstorm in Valencia, which damaged crops and property and prompted an emergency response.
Puerta del Sol and Príncipe Pío are busy areas of the capital, including on weekend nights. In separate public comments about security at Puerta del Sol, Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said there had been “episodes of violence” in connection with a housing encampment. His remarks concerned that encampment and the surrounding security debate.
