Some days ago, a 51-year-old financial advisor, well known in Palma, had dinner with friends at a restaurant on Paseo Mallorca. Around midnight, he left the restaurant and walked towards Plaza de los Patines, where he had parked his car.
"Suddenly I saw a group of boys approaching me. Before I could react one of them punched me in the head and knocked me down." Two others punched and kicked him. "They wanted to take my Rolex watch, which for me has sentimental value. They literally snatched it off me. One repeatedly told me to shut up. Among themselves they spoke in Arabic."
The gang stole his watch, valued at more than 12,000 euros, and an iPhone. They didn't take his wallet because he didn't have any cash on him. As soon as they left, he got up and staggered to the National Police headquarters, the entrance to which is just off Paseo Mallorca.
He was taken to the Clinica Rotger with bruises to his face, chest, abdomen and other parts of his body. "It was a savage beating. I thought I was done for. They hit me everywhere. It is very sad that we can no longer walk peacefully at night through the centre of Palma. So much gratuitous violence is very scary. The way they acted, it was as if it wasn't the first time they had done this. They lack scruples or values."
Plaza de los Patines, it so happens, is where the Prosecutor's Office is located. The square is full of security cameras, especially by the office, and the assault took place right by the office. The National Police are looking for individuals described as extremely violent, who could well have been involved in other robberies committed in recent days in the city.