Early Tuesday morning, the Mossos d’Esquadra activated a plan to detain anyone connected to a fatal stabbing in a busy stretch of parallel streets in Barcelona. Close to a dozen people were taken into custody, most of them young and of Dominican nationality, as investigators moved to piece together what happened.
The incident unfolded when several patrons leaving Brisas nightclub in the early hours of October 30 got into a violent confrontation. Two young men of Moroccan origin were seriously wounded by a knife. One died on the sidewalk, while the other was transported to a hospital by ambulance from the Catalan emergency service SEM.
Footage captured by nightclub witnesses shows the victim struggling to breathe after the stabbing, lying on his back on the pavement with bystanders gathered around. One person in the crowd filmed the scene from a standing position, seemingly not offering help. Some eyewitnesses near the victim warned him that he would not survive. The clip lasts only a few seconds, and no assistance appears to be given in the moment captured.
first prisoner
The day after the murder, the Mossos arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of involvement in the incident. Investigators had indications of his role in the brawl but did not yet know the extent of his participation. Police sources noted that the investigation was ongoing and that this arrest represented a step forward in identifying others connected to the case.
On Tuesday morning, after four months of inquiry, authorities detained all individuals believed to be responsible for the death, though the exact causes remain under review. One early hypothesis suggested the victims might have targeted a club patron in a theft attempt, provoking a reaction from associates.
The Catalan police have framed the suspects not as members of a criminal organization but as youths who acted together during the altercation, resulting in the death of one of the victims.
controversial night club
The Brisas nightclub, which Barcelona City Council has slated for demolition, has been the scene of two fatalities in the past five years and has repeatedly been tied to heated disputes and violent clashes among patrons on Avenida del Parallel. On a Saturday, two weeks after the Moroccan victim’s death, Mossos conducted a security operation inside the venue following three violent incidents in April. Additional fights in June and August led to arrests and injuries, while mid-September saw more confrontations and a fatal incident in October.
The operation, lasting over two hours, resulted in the arrest of a patron with an active warrant. Eleven other patrons faced administrative charges for narcotics possession, nine minors were confirmed to have consumed alcohol, and a security guard was found to be improperly employed at the venue. Bladed weapons were also recovered on the premises.
The most serious incident at this location previously occurred in February 2018, when a 28-year-old Dominican national was shot on the dance floor. At that time the club was known as Koko Premium. Barcelona City Council later explained that a redevelopment plan approved in January 2022 would repurpose the site as a student dormitory in a project that would soon lead to its closure.