The Mossos d'Esquadra arrested two minors under the age of 16 this Tuesday morning for their alleged involvement in the death of a well-known 45-year-old resident of Castellnou de Bages. The victim, a gardener by profession and father of two young twins, was stabbed in the chest. The first police officers who arrived at the scene tried to revive the injured man with cardiovascular resuscitation maneuvers, until the arrival of the EMS health services, but they could do nothing for his life. The knife pierced his heart.
The news of the murder spread like wildfire in the town, which last night was celebrating the correfoc at the end of the festival. In fact, the victim, Carles Vilajosana, was especially known and loved throughout the Bages region and a regular runner in the correfoc, which he attended last night with his two twin children.
Around five in the morning, the 112 operators received several calls alerting of a fight in front of number 15 Sant Jaume Street in Manresa. While some patrols assisted the injured man until the arrival of the ambulances, others began the search for the perpetrators, based on the descriptions of the witnesses who spoke of four young people. They managed to arrest two, both minors. This Tuesday afternoon, the Catalan police officially confirmed the arrests.
One of the detainees is accused of being the material author of the stabbing that killed the man, both are Spanish. Both are at the Manresa Mossos police station, in the homicide group offices of the central police region. Those arrested with old acquaintances of the Catalan and municipal police have a history and are, in the words of the same sources, “very problematic.” The other two involved in the fight have been identified, according to the same sources.
The tragic incident began, according to several witnesses, with a fight, which was allegedly started by one of the detainees. When the victim confronted them, he received a single fatal stab wound.
The mayor of Castellnou de Bages, David Canyadó, explained to Regió7 that the victim was part of his circle of friends and described her as a non-conflictive person, “well known and loved” in the town.
The Manresa City Council condemned the crime “with the utmost firmness and completeness” and highlighted the deep consternation caused by the death of Carles Vilajosana. An extraordinary meeting of the board of spokespersons agreed to decree a day of official mourning in the city as a sign of rejection of violence and support for the family and friends of the victim.
Groups linked to the extreme right and Sílvia Orriols herself, from Aliança Catalana, have spread that the detainees are migrant minors, despite the fact that the police sources consulted assure that the two arrested so far were born in Catalonia. Two demonstrations have been called in the municipality: one at half past seven in the afternoon, linked to the extreme right, under the slogan Fins el collons, which has brought together about 500 people. At nine at night, another group of neighbors has called a rally to condemn the violence. On Thursday, Vox organized another protest, with a poster stating that those arrested are migrant minors, despite this information not being true.
