A man from Britain was hospitalized in Spain after an incident where he was allegedly stabbed with a screwdriver by a passerby who requested a cigarette, but was refused. The victim, identified as Scottish by the police, sustained a punctured lung during the assault at Plaza de Ayuntamiento in Valencia’s city center around 4 am on Saturday. A 45-year-old man, with a reported criminal history, was apprehended at the scene in connection with the attack.
Following a woman’s distress cries, two police officers responded to the scene. The woman, a Uruguayan national who was accompanying the Scottish man, stated that the suspect asked for a cigarette, and upon denial, proceeded to stab him with a screwdriver.
Described by the newspaper Las Provincias as an individual with mental health issues, the suspect was taken into custody, while the victim was admitted to Doctor Peset University Hospital in Valencia. The current status of the victim’s health remains undisclosed.
This incident occurred alongside another stabbing case at Palma Airport in Mallorca earlier in May. A man in his twenties was reportedly stabbed in the neck without a discernible motive while waiting for a friend at the airport. The victim was approached by an individual inquiring about his phone, leading to a sudden and brutal attack with a knife.
Reports indicate that a suspect was swiftly apprehended within the airport premises, while the victim received immediate medical attention from a SAMU 061 ambulance team. The victim was stabilized on-site and later transferred to a hospital for specialized medical treatment.
A reliable source mentioned that the perpetrator claimed no recollection of the violent act, attributing it to a reaction following the alleged theft of his own phone. The suspect, believed to be a rough sleeper at the airport, approached the victim, an Argentine resident on the island, without prior acquaintance, leading to the life-threatening encounter.