Civil Guard investigators in El Campello are examining a complaint filed by a 19-year-old girl who says she was attacked with a syringe while riding the tram from Alicante to Campello. Authorities report that there have been no additional complaints in El Campello about similar attacks, which have sparked anxiety in other countries like France due to a rise in syringe punctures at nightlife venues and crowded events in recent months.
In some recent cases there have been reports to the National Police as well. Authorities have denied rumors, but medical tests showed that several girls at a nightclub toilet had been injected with substances such as liquid ecstasy. The Dénia Police Station continues to investigate, a development that has unsettled many young residents of the city.
The father of the young woman affected by the alleged assault in El Campello told this newspaper that the events occurred on June 11 around eleven o’clock at night. His daughter had boarded at the tram market station, traveled toward Alicante, and then home to El Campello. He does not recall the exact moment of the puncture, but it happened when a friend accompanying her got off at the Colonia Romana station near Albufereta early in the morning.
“The tram was packed. Suddenly she started feeling unwell,” the father explained. The girl became dizzy and nauseated, had to sit or lie on the car floor, and called her parents to collect her at the next stop.
The victim did not notice the puncture right away. A day and a half later she went to a clinic in Alicante and discovered a bruise on her leg. “We thought it was mosquito bites, but at the hospital they told us clearly that there was a syringe puncture,” the parent recalled.
Because time had passed, tests could not confirm whether a substance had been injected or if it was merely a puncture. Still, a preventive protocol was activated, and the clinic provided medicines to guard against HIV and hepatitis.
Similar concerns have been raised in France and the United Kingdom. Across these reports, the pattern shows multiple confirmed cases of injections or punctures with unknown substances, leaving authorities to determine the exact nature of the risk and how best to respond to protect young people in nightlife venues and crowded transit areas.
As investigations continue, officials emphasize the importance of vigilance in crowded spaces, especially during late-night transit and at venues with large crowds. Community outreach and safety measures are being discussed to reassure the public and reduce the chances of similar incidents in the future.