When a population goes up, as it does in Almunecar, from around 25,000 to nearly 120,000 then you can expect more trouble than usual, but even so a stabbing in one of the Paseo del Altillo bars (the Los Bajos end) is far from expected.
A 21-year old from Almeria was seriously injured in the neck by a local lad with a knife, around seven in the morning of Saturday the 13th; i.e., at the tail end of a long Friday night when those that are still standing having been drinking, or worse, for hours, start to head home.
The Policia Local, Guardia Civil and an ambulance from the Almunecar medical centre were soon there. As well as the lad with the knife wound to the neck, the alleged assailant also had an injury to the hand, so both were treated by paramedics.
Strangely enough, it was the reported aggressor that was taken to hospital by ambulance first, escorted by the Guardia Civil, to have his hand sorted out before being taken into custody.
The victim, on the other hand, continued to be treated on the spot until an ambulance from the Servicio de Emergencia de Andalucia (061) turned up. The doctor, however, opted to keep him in an Almuñécar ambulance to transfer him to Motril’s Hospital Santa Ana, but accompanied by the 061 medical team. Soon after his arrival, his wound was considered serious enough to warrant his transfer to the provincial hospital in Granada.
Any reader will be asking himself/herself why the alleged aggressor, with only a hand wound, was not taken in a police car to the town medical centre prior to being taken into custody, freeing up the first ambulance to take the victim to Motril.
We haven’t a clue why, but will investigate further and see if we can find out.
(If the rules are the same as the UK, an injured person should not be carried by Police vehicle, as they are not equipped nor insured to do this kind of transfer. Of course, on occasion it does happen, but if it can be avoided, it will, even if the injured person is under arrest. DD)
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)