A South American man has been arrested in Barcelona after a video of him slapping a one-year-old child at a popular tourist destination went viral. The incident, which took place in broad daylight, appears to show the 31-year-old Ecuadorian national confronting a family, reportedly tourists, as they walked together.
The perpetrator initially fakes a slap before making contact with the child’s left cheek. Her grandfather quickly scoops her up, while her grandmother turns the stroller away. The young girl did not require hospitalization.
Authorities later confirmed that the man was also involved in two other assaults over the weekend, one of which left a victim with severe facial injuries. According to the Daily Mail, he was arrested on Sunday in connection with all three attacks:
The incident reportedly happened on a walkway on Barcelona’s Montjuic hill, where popular tourist attractions like the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia are located.
Another of his alleged victims is a 60-year-old man, who suffered cuts to his face and was left with bruises all over his body.
The attacker was identified via the video footage and eyewitness descriptions.
The man is due to appear in court on Tuesday.
The string of assaults comes amid a rise in crime in Barcelona. In 2023, the city experienced an 8.6% increase in overall crime compared to the previous year. Notably, reports of sexual assault jumped by 24.5%, and fraud cases surged by 35%. Theft, which accounts for nearly half of all crimes in the city, rose by 6.5%. Additionally, arrests of repeat offenders increased by 30%, highlighting a growing issue with reoffending.
Anti-tourism sentiment is also mounting in Spain, particularly in cities like Barcelona, where the impacts of mass tourism have triggered growing frustrations among locals. Frustration centers on issues such as skyrocketing housing prices, which are exacerbated by the prevalence of short-term rentals catering to tourists. Locals are also concerned about noise pollution and the strain on public services due to the number of visitors.
In July 2024, anti-tourism protests in Barcelona drew international attention when a small group of demonstrators targeted tourists by squirting them with water. The protests are part of a broader movement advocating for tourism reduction, or “degrowth,” which aims to shift the city away from relying on mass tourism while addressing the growing dissatisfaction among residents. Similar protests have erupted in other popular tourist destinations across Spain, including the Canary Islands, Girona and the Balearic Islands.
Despite ongoing protests, tourism remains vital to Barcelona’s economy. Last year, the city and its surrounding region generated 12.75 billion euros (about $13.8 billion) from tourism, a 14.7% increase over pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
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Would have been sweet if grandpa pulled out a pistol and dispatched his stick attacker.
The civilized world is just going to have to accept that behavior from the third world…. After all the men are to weak to stop the primitive third world community, right? Otherwise you would deport the thugs out of your nation that you won’t protect from invasion!
Only a coward slaps a baby. Jesus said it would be better for a man to have millstone tied to his neck and tossed into the sea than what God would do to him for hurting an innocent child.