A manhunt is underway after a tourist was reportedly stabbed in the neck at a five-star hotel in Barcelona, the latest in a string of knife attacks in the city this month.
The 23-year-old hotel guest was attacked by a group of three men at the Hotel Casa Fuster off the central Passeig de Gràcia on Monday lunchtime, according to local media.
The victim was beaten by the group and stabbed twice in the neck after an argument spiralled out of control, ElCaso.cat reported. The attackers are then said to have fled the scene.
Emergency services rushed the victim to hospital, where he was in a serious but not life-threatening condition. An investigation has since been launched to find the assailants, according to local outlet ARA, citing police sources.
Local Mossos law enforcement raced to the scene of the attack, along with Barcelona Urban Police and personnel from the Medical Emergency System (SEM).
Catalan police told ARA they were alerted to the incident at 1.30pm on Monday.
The Hotel Casa Fuster is billed as a five-star retreat in an impressive Modernist building just north of the Avinguda Diagonal, at the intersection with Barcelona’s famous shopping walkthrough. A double deluxe room costs around £360 per night in October.
Earlier this month, the city witnessed a further five stabbings over the holiday weekend for the National Day of Catalonia, according to local reports.
Two minors were attacked in the Carmel area, one sustained injuries in a brawl in Sant Martí, a fourth was injured in a fight after a traffic incident, and a fifth suffered a neck wound in the Vilapicina neighbourhood, according to the Sur in English.
The Barcelona town hall reported in July that knife-related incidents had fallen overall by 20.9 per cent between January and June of this year.
Robberies involving violence also fell by 9.4 per cent, while thefts were down 21.1 per cent in the city which has long contested with an epidemic of pickpocketing.
Hate crimes in the city rose by 64.3 per cent compared to the same period last year, the city authorities said.
The Independent contacted the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Hotel Casa Fuster for comment.
