San Bartolomé will reinforce police surveillance in the area where the assault and violent attack on the owner of a home occurred this Monday. The owner of this house received a brutal beating that has left him in serious condition and forced him to be transferred to Gran Canaria for medical attention. His partner had to receive psychological attention. The event has shocked the island and especially the residents of that part of the municipality, who have conveyed their concerns to the Local Police Councilor, Alexis Tejera, and have asked him to increase the presence of agents.
Tejera confirmed this Tuesday afternoon that he has already contacted the sergeant of the Local Police of the municipality to ask him to allocate more agents to patrol that area. "For the peace of mind of the residents and because it helps them psychologically, I will send more police to that area of La Florida, the end of Las Calderetas, and the beginning of Islote," the councilor explained.
Tejera stated that it is "normal" for the residents to be "affected" by the brutality of what happened. However, he also wanted to convey a message of "calm" and "serenity" and emphasized that it is an "isolated incident."
No Arrests Have Been Made
The Civil Guard has been investigating the incident since Monday, the perpetrators of which fled in the woman's vehicle. The car was found hours later, at night, in the capital's neighborhood of Argana. However, no arrests have been made so far.
The agents are looking for a group of between 3 and 6 people, according to the victims' statements. The Civil Guard already emphasized this Monday that they had suffered a "traumatic event," so some aspects of what they related could be "contradictory." As part of the investigation, the police force has inspected the house and also the vehicle, in search of fingerprints and data that can give them information about the perpetrators of the assault and help to clarify it.
To perpetrate it, the aggressors posed as agents of the Civil Guard. The events happened at 8:15 in the morning, when the woman was returning home after dropping the children off at school. There, a woman was waiting for her who assured her that she belonged to the money laundering division of the Civil Guard. Upon entering the house with her, she discovered her partner, naked and tied up, along with at least two other aggressors.
They Didn't Take "Anything of Significance"
In addition to assaulting the owner of the house with extreme violence, before fleeing, the aggressors caused significant damage to the house. They even broke false ceilings and bathrooms in search of money. However, the Civil Guard believes that they did not manage to take "anything of significance," apart from the woman's car that they used to flee.
Although it is still unknown how many there were, what the Civil Guard has confirmed is that they were wearing "gloves" and "clothing to cover their faces," so their identification could be "complicated." According to the victims' account, the assailants had a "Canarian accent" and assured them that they had spent three months watching the owner of the house. His partner is still "very affected" by what happened and, according to what the family members have told Tejera, she does not know if she will return to the house where everything happened. Although she was not beaten, she was tied up by the assailants and witnessed the state in which her partner was. This Monday she received psychological attention in the hospital.
The assault has caused astonishment among the residents, who define them as a "very normal" family, with a good economic situation, but not so well-off as to become the target of an attempted robbery of this magnitude. He is a carpenter and she works as an employee in a prepared food company.