Hate attacks on social networks, the other side of attacks on toilets
After a brutal incident in Ibiza late last Friday, December 23, the impact rippled through the island’s emergency teams. Tony Gonzalez, a veteran ambulance technician with three decades of service, has faced countless insults and threats throughout his career. The injuries stitched into memory include a serious hit from a motorcyclist earlier in the season who refused to wait for a medical vehicle to load a patient. In Cala de Bou, a doctor and nurse treated a child seized by a seizure at a residence. The assailant’s outburst echoed a chilling line: get down, scumbag, I’ll kill you. He remembers feeling a wave of sadness as the attacker, though later reported, fled but was later identified by a neighbor who helped the authorities.
Hate attacks on social networks, the other side of attacks on toilets
This case stood on hold as a fresh threat emerged that pushed Gonzalez and his team to the brink. Last year, there were 19 recorded assaults on health and ambulance workers in the Balearic Islands, a rise of about 20% from the year before. Yet none of these attacks matched the magnitude of that recent Friday incident. Gonzalez was briefly reinstated to the mobile rapid-response unit in Sant Antoni for three days before being sent home at 6:15 p.m. Following the episode, relatives of the 44-year-old patient called the emergency line seeking help. In mental-health cases, the protocol calls for police involvement to assist ambulances, a standard that was not satisfied this time, according to reports.
No police escort
After completing the service, Gonzalez asked whether police were present. The response was that the police would not accompany the team because the patient appeared calm. He arrived at a residence in central Sant Antoni with a doctor, and the two clinicians were linked to different organizational tiers. He received support from the public health entity, Health Management and Balearic Islands (Gesaib), while his SAMU 061 colleagues are considered legally distinct personnel.
As the vehicle crossed the street, the team requested police again. The nurse and doctor moved to the second-floor room to ask for help, and Gonzalez chose to accompany them. Inside were two elderly parents and a woman he believed was the patient’s sister. A local family of longstanding roots in Sant Antoni, they reported the patient had not taken his medication for a long period and appeared unsettled. The patient’s room had not been accessed previously, according to witnesses.
“He suddenly charged out of an agitated room,” Gonzalez recalls, his fear still visible. He describes the moment as lasting several minutes, during which he shielded the doctor by throwing himself between the attacker and his colleague. The patient, described as a strong, deranged man, kicked the doctor in the face and appeared intent on harming him further. The healthcare workers fled to the street in search of assistance, while parents joined in, delivering kicks to the patient as well. The mother even broke her nose with a shoe’s toe—an image Gonzalez still finds hard to shake. If Gonzalez tried to block the kicks with his hands, the blows rained down anew.
During the struggle, the attacker bit Gonzalez’s fingers and stomach, leaving Gonzalez with little room to maneuver. He cannot recall whether another woman in the home was present or hiding at the moment. He remembers a brief sighting of the mother returning with a sharp object that could have been a knife or scissors.
Run away no matter what
“I thought I was going to die. I feared for my life,” he says, recounting the moment. The nurse returned to the apartment and anchored her vest to help stabilize him as they began to descend the stairs. The mother threw a bottle or vase, striking Gonzalez on the back, and an ashtray hit his head. Police had not yet arrived. He was placed on a backboard, with two additional ambulances on standby to transport him to Can Misses Hospital.
The Local Police and Civil Guard eventually arrived, detaining the parents while the patient was transferred to another ambulance. Despite the pain, Gonzalez found some solace in his own measured response, insisting that his actions were necessary to protect the doctor. “I don’t want to imagine what would have happened to the doctor if I hadn’t intervened,” he says.
Two colleagues, Jose Manuel Maroto and Pablo Roig, testified that the team would pursue all calls to determine where the protocol failed so it does not recur. They later confirmed that 061’s records were reviewed as part of an internal investigation. A service spokesperson acknowledged that police protection was supposed to be present in these situations involving mentally ill patients, though it remains unclear whether the local police or the Civil Guard were assigned that afternoon.
Protocol failure and calls for reform
Maroto and Roig say they will forward their request to the Balearic Islands Government Delegation to ensure that technicians receive proper protection and clear guidelines for dealing with aggressive individuals or family members. They also stress that health workers should be able to perform their duties without fear of violence, noting that some past training exists but lacks specialization. As Gonzalez recovers, he describes the physical and psychological consequences: a broken nose requiring surgery, protective treatment for ear injuries, and possible maxillofacial repair. His face bears the marks, and he laments that his six-year-old daughter witnessed the incident and cried. The team advocates for ongoing training to help staff respond to violent situations and to safeguard themselves during emergencies.
It is clear from this account that aggression toward emergency responders remains a troubling pattern, one that extends beyond isolated incidents. Ambulance crews on Ibiza, and across similar communities, report rude interruptions, threats, and vandalism that complicate life-saving efforts. The call for better training and more robust protection is a broader message: professionals tasked with saving lives deserve a safer working environment and clearer protocols so they can focus on care without looking over their shoulders for danger [Citation: 061 Emergency Services].