Badalona’s mayor has branded a Moroccan suspect “human scum” after he allegedly snatched an 81-year-old woman’s purse, saying that if it were up to him, he would “swim him back to Morocco” but that Spain’s far-left government will let him off.
Xavier García Albiol said the incident happened in the Llefià neighborhood on Thursday morning, when the suspect allegedly grabbed the elderly woman’s purse before being chased down by one of the mayor’s municipal police bodyguards.
“This morning, this human scum who came from Morocco snatched a purse from an 81-year-old woman in the Llefià neighborhood,” Albiol wrote on X.
“Luckily, one of my bodyguards from the Badalona Municipal Police was there, and after a chase on foot of several minutes, he finally managed to catch up with him and arrest him,” he added.
Albiol said the suspect had picked on a vulnerable pensioner but had failed to get away.
“You have to be a real scoundrel to rob an elderly woman. It didn’t work out for him today,” the mayor said.
As reported by OKdiario, Albiol then linked the case directly to Spain’s national government, accusing it of allowing foreign criminals to avoid punishment.
“If it were up to me, I’d swim him back to Morocco. Unfortunately, thanks to the current government, he’ll be back on the streets tomorrow,” Albiol said.
The suspect was reportedly stopped after witnesses raised the alarm, with one member of the public helping the officer during the pursuit and arrest.
Albiol praised both men, saying, “Congratulations to the Guardia Urbana officer for his excellent performance and also to the citizen who assisted him in the pursuit and arrest.”
He also said Badalona would continue taking a firm line against crime, adding, “We in Badalona will continue working every day for the benefit of our residents and to ensure that anyone who comes here to commit crimes knows they will find a firm response.”
The row comes as immigration remains one of Spain’s most heated political issues following Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s move to regularize large numbers of undocumented migrants.
Spain has reportedly received around 900,000 applications under the scheme, far above earlier expectations, with the total expected to exceed one million.
