Tragedy at Mas d’Enric Prison: Kitchen Worker Killed by Inmate and Suspect Takes Own Life
In the Mas d’Enric prison in El Catllar, Tarragona, a violent incident unfolded when an inmate assigned to the kitchen fatally attacked the center’s cook and then took his own life, according to prison officials. The Mossos d’Esquadra have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the crime, which occurred on a Wednesday afternoon. Early reports indicate the assault involved a bladed weapon.
The assailant was a kitchen inmate who appeared to have confronted the victim with a knife. Law enforcement is examining the events leading up to the attack, while the Department of Justice’s Secretariat for Penal Measures, Reintegration, and Victim Services has launched an internal inquiry into the incident.
Alberto Gómez, coordinator of CSIF Presons, described the event as a “brutal tragedy” and noted that the union has long warned about the “grave security situation in Catalan prisons.” He expressed regret that no measures had been implemented by the Department of Justice before this incident, urging accountability at high levels and calling for leadership changes within the justice system.
The homicide coincides with CSIF’s reporting that another inmate, a Spanish national housed at Quatre Camins, assaulted five staff members, causing several injuries, one of them serious. CSIF stresses that the aggressor was a repeat offender with a history of disruptive behavior, and that prior warnings about his conduct had been raised by the prison unions.
Unions have organized a demonstration for Thursday to publicly condemn the crime and to protest what they describe as insufficient security measures in the prisons. The gathering aims to highlight concerns about safety and to demand steps that prevent such incidents in the future.