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Date Published: 24/05/2022
ARCHIVED - Gunshots fired and one man stabbed as rival families clash in Cartagena
Around 20 officers patrolled the VillaIba area of Cartagena to prevent further violence
Historic hatred between two rival families in the VillaIba area of Cartagena came to a violent head on Monday May 23 when an exiled member of one of the families returned to the neighbourhood after five years.
Just after 4pm, emergency services received reports of gunshots being fired hours after a man was stabbed in the face.
National Police patrols were quickly on the scene to prevent the violence escalating further and try to "contain the tension" between the two warring families.
Residents claim Villalba is "not a bad area" and have told Spanish press they don't want their neighbourhood to be equated with others renowned for drug trafficking and shootings, such as Las 600.
However, they pointed out that, for some time now, some families have moved into the area "which can be conflictive".
According to police sources, the street brawl came about over a violent incident that took place more than six years ago at a cockfight in Cartagena. A man subsequently "had to leave" the municipality, returning on Monday morning before a "knife fight" broke out.
With regards to the shots fired in the afternoon, they were allegedly in retaliation for the knife incident that took place hours earlier.
Due to ongoing conflict between the families, a large security deployment was put in place, made up of around 20 national police officers.
"The priority is to locate the person who fired the shots and ensure security. This person would be a relative of the person stabbed in the face in the morning," said police on Monday.
Residents in the area were said to be "initially alarmed" by the large police presence, which focused on securing Calle Lentisco. Some officers, many members of the Prevention and Reaction Unit (UPR), and police motorcyclists were heavily armed, according to witnesses, who said "a tense calm reigned" in the streets afterwards.
There have been no reports of any arrests as yet.
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