A Spanish politician who helped found the right-wing populist Vox party was shot in the head in broad daylight on Thursday in an upmarket neighborhood in Madrid.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a former vice-president of the European Parliament who had also served as leader of the People’s Party of Catalonia, was shot at point-blank range by a gunman who fled the scene on a motorcycle.
The incident occurred at around 2 p.m. local time on 40 Nuñez de Balboa street in Salamanca, police confirmed.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported how the 78-year-old politician had been walking alone down the street when a motorcycle with two occupants approached him. The passenger, who wore a helmet to conceal his face, then fired an execution-style shot to the head before fleeing the scene.
#Agresión con arma de fuego en c/Núñez de Balboa, 40. #Salamanca.@SAMUR_PC estabiliza a un hombre de 78 años con una herida por arma de fuego y lo traslada a un hospital de #Madrid.@policia investiga. Colabora @policiademadrid. pic.twitter.com/OZHJH866no
— Emergencias Madrid (@EmergenciasMad) November 9, 2023Several bystanders tended to the politician and reported the incident to authorities. According to local media, first responders reported there had been both an entry and exit wound from the shooting.
Vidal-Quadras miraculously survived the attack and was rushed to La Princesa Hospital for treatment. He is understood to be conscious and in a stable condition.
Local authorities have cordoned off the affluent area of the Spanish capital, and the national police have taken over the investigation, requesting access to security cameras in the vicinity to ascertain the motorcycle’s license plate.
Vidal-Quadras has remained a prominent voice in Spanish politics, regularly appearing on talk shows and commenting on current affairs and the country’s political landscape.
Just hours before the shooting, he criticized on social media the proposed amnesty agreement reached between the Spanish left-wing government and Catalan separatists including exiled Carles Puigdemont, which has paved the way for incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to remain in power following inconclusive elections.
“The infamous pact between Sánchez and Puigdemont that crushes the rule of law in Spain and ends the separation of powers has already been agreed upon,” Vidal-Quadras wrote.
“Our nation will thus cease to be a liberal democracy and become a totalitarian tyranny. We Spaniards will not allow it,” he added.
