File image.
The mass brawl last Friday, November 4th, in El Palo has a backstory that only those involved knew. A group of 80 youths were chasing a dozen minors who, apparently, were part of a gang that had terrorized numerous teenagers living in the eastern and central areas of the capital.
The Málaga Local Police foiled what was likely a lynching. They arrested the potential victims for a long list of crimes—still to be determined—which they posted on their social media accounts, like someone who betrays themselves because, in reality, they feel they can go unpunished.
Calls about the fight peaked around 8:00 p.m. The repeated calls prompted the deployment of a large police force consisting of a dozen patrol cars. The officers not only broke up the brawl, but after a chase through the streets of El Palo, they located and arrested the nine minors involved in the gang.
According to police investigations, the group of young men, aged 14 to 17, approached some teenagers who were sitting in front of the former Casa Pedro restaurant, at the intersection of Quitapenas and Banda del Mar streets. They were armed with a butterfly knife and sticks.
The victims fled. The four teenagers hid in different locations and, from there, called the police and posted what was happening on social media. This prompted a response from a group of neighborhood kids, who went in search of the gang.
After arresting the nine alleged members of the group, local police began investigating what happened. According to sources consulted, those arrested had allegedly been robbing teenagers in recent months.
On other occasions, the detainees allegedly extorted their victims, demanding sums of money from them on social media under the threat of attacking them or their families. There have also apparently been cases of sexual abuse of girls, according to the sources consulted.
In addition to all of the above, local police discovered that those arrested had been recording their misdeeds and posting them on Instagram. A quick review of their profiles revealed a gallery of the crimes for which they are being investigated.
Five of those arrested are of North African origin, three others were born in different Spanish provinces, and the last is Colombian. Nine phones were seized, six of them high-end iPhones, and three blunt objects. The knife allegedly used in the fight was not found.
The detainees, along with the seized cell phones, have been handed over to the National Police's Eastern District Investigation Group. According to the victims' statements and as confirmed by an initial review of their social media profiles, the detainees routinely recorded and published their misdeeds.
The police investigation is now focusing on two different avenues. First, analyzing the complaints filed by adolescents in recent months in the capital to determine whether they are related to the detainees, and second, investigating the images to identify other possible victims or criminal acts that, given the age of the victims, have not been reported for fear of retaliation.
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