Gunman Fires on Car Outside Santa Coloma Hospital ER, Then Flees
A hooded gunman shot at a car outside Hospital de l'Esperit Sant in Santa Coloma de Gramenet on Nov. 5. What police know and the recent run of shootings.
A gunman opened fire on the occupants of a car outside the emergency department of Hospital de l’Esperit Sant in Santa Coloma de Gramenet on Thursday, Nov. 5, and drove off before police arrived. No injuries or arrests had been reported by midday, according to Metrópoli Abierta, citing police sources.
The Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalonia’s police) have opened an investigation. By the time patrols reached the hospital, the shooter and the people in the targeted car had both left, so officers could not yet confirm whether anyone was hit.
What happened at the Esperit Sant emergency entrance
Reports differ slightly on the time. El Caso said the shots rang out around noon, while Metrópoli Abierta put it at about 12:30 on Carrer Mossèn Josep Pons i Rabadà, the street next to the hospital.
According to Metrópoli Abierta, a man with his face covered by a hood fired at people inside an Audi. He then left quickly in a black Renault Megane. That outlet said six or seven shots may have been fired. El Caso, citing witnesses, reported that the targeted car had stopped in the parking area inside the hospital grounds, by the entrance to the emergency service.
The hospital’s private security team heard the gunfire and called the Mossos, Metrópoli Abierta reported. Other people also contacted emergency services. Officers found several spent cartridge cases at the scene and collected them as evidence.
What police are trying to establish
Investigators want to identify and find both the shooter and the people in the Audi, work out how they know each other and why the attack happened at the hospital doors. El Caso reported that the main line of inquiry is a dispute between two clans whose members had clashed before. Police also need to determine whether the gunman meant to intimidate, wound or kill. Witnesses quoted by El Caso said none of the people in the car appeared to be badly hurt.
Why it matters for people in the Barcelona area
The shooting happened in daylight at the entrance to an emergency department, where patients, visitors and staff come and go. El Caso noted that these shootings usually involve criminals targeting each other, but the concern is that a bystander could one day be hit.
It is also the latest in a series of gun incidents in Catalonia. In the past fifteen days alone, El Caso counted shootings in Sant Jaume dels Domenys, where a marijuana plantation was uncovered, in Polinyà, and in the La Mina neighborhood of Sant Adrià de Besòs. In October, two people were killed with firearms: one at a tattoo studio in Badalona, and a Turkish man who was shot dead in a room at Hospital Joan XXIII in Tarragona days after surviving an earlier attempt on his life in Salou.
What to watch next
The Mossos have not released details on suspects. The investigation into who fired and who was in the Audi is ongoing.
Sources: El Caso, Metrópoli Abierta
