The man assaulted with a knife in Arrecife on Thursday afternoon remains in critical condition at the Molina Orosa Hospital, where he has had to undergo surgery twice since being admitted after the assault, according to sources close to La Voz.
The victim is a 19-year-old Moroccan man, who arrived on the island by boat and is a regular at the Arrecife Youth Center, in whose vicinity the assault took place. According to witnesses, there were three aggressors, all of Latin American origin, and the aggression occurred "with large knives."
The caretaker of the Youth Center himself attended to the victim, who in addition to a wound in the abdomen, also suffered another in the back. Upon arrival at the Molina Orosa Hospital, the 19-year-old had to be operated on and, although he came out well from the first intervention, he had to undergo surgery again in the early morning as his condition worsened.
Private security and fencing of the facilities
The Councilor for Youth of Arrecife, Elisabeth Merino, has acknowledged security problems in the vicinity of the Youth Center, which she says she has been denouncing "from minute one" that she entered the Councilorship. "I have met several times with the National Police," said the mayor, who believes, however, that "they do their job as best they can."
Thus, after the attack recorded this Thursday, the councilor states that this Friday morning a meeting was held at the City Hall to take out a contract to put private security in the Youth Center.
In addition, the mayor has pointed out that she has been working for some time to fence the entire perimeter of the facilities next year. "So that everyone who enters there is safe and that parents are not afraid to send the kids to do activities at the Youth Center."
The Councilor for Youth of Arrecife, who after the attack went to the Molina Orosa Hospital to find out the condition of the victim, stressed that "he is a very calm person." "He is a young and strong boy and he is sure to get out of this," she said.
