Two arrested following brutal attack of young man in La Herradura

The Guardia Civil has arrested two young men believed to be behind the brutal assault on Roberto, the 22-year-old man from La Herradura on Granada province's Costa Tropical, during the town's San Juan fair in March.

Although at first it was suspected that more people may have been involved, the investigations have been able to determine that there were three people involved in the attack. The investigation is ongoing to identify and locate the third person involved.

Roberto was with his sister at around 3am on 22 March at the entrance to La Herradura as they waited for the free bus that Almuñécar town hall had laid on to facilitate movement between the two towns during the fair. The siblings decided to walk when the bus failed to turn up and it was at this point that the attackers arrived.

"Then they started to get angry with me, insulting me repeatedly and even hitting me. I didn't want any trouble, I tried to defend myself, but four people started hitting me with punches and kicks", explained the victim on Canal Sur television. He pointed out that he didn't know his aggressors and that it was "all very fast". "It was gratuitous violence", he added.

Roberto believed the boys were friends of his cousin. Four of them kicked him multiple times in the head and three others held his sister, who was trying to stop the attack. After her screams for help, a local resident came to the scene to help and the attackers fled, as the victim's father told IDEAL, who insists: "They almost killed him". The family then took Roberto to Almuñécar's health centre and, after waiting for an hour and a half, demanded that he be taken by ambulance to the Santa Ana Hospital in Motril, due to his serious state of health.

After hours of observation and several medical tests in Motril, the doctors determined that there had been no stroke or fracture in the brain. However, Roberto's nose, eyes and ear were badly injured as were other parts of his body.

"For me it was 100 per cent a murder attempt, but unless something is broken, little will happen to them. This is what justice is like; a disgrace", explained Roberto's father, Roberto García, four days later when speaking to IDEAL.

The father said that the investigation needs to be handled well so that the culprits receive a heavier sentence. "If not, it will remain a minor offence, they will be fined and they will do it again. We are fighting for justice and for them not to get away with it," he said. "We feel let down, because the boy is strong, but you have seen the photo and the brutal aggression he suffered," he added.