112 incident
Malaga province police dissuade resident from taking his own life
The police engaged the elderly man, who has dementia, in a conversation to convince him to put the weapon down
Malaga province police managed to dissuade a resident in the Antequera area suffering from dementia from taking his own life with a firearm this week.
According to sources, the man himself called the emergency services to inform them of his intentions. He was overcome by a severe crisis.
Six officers from the Local Police and the Guardia Civil launched a joint operation and located the elderly man. They arrived at the scene and remained at a safe distance of between 80 and 100 metres from the man, who was in a highly agitated state.
Although he repeatedly stated that he had no intention of harming the police, the unpredictable nature of the situation forced them to load their service weapons and take cover behind their patrol cars.
It was then that a complex process of negotiation began. The police had to act calmly, with patience and empathy. They engaged him in a direct and humane dialogue, consistently asking him for "just five more minutes" to buy more time.
After almost an hour, the police finally managed to persuade the man to place the weapon out of his reach, at which point he relented and burst into tears.
A call to 112 or 024 (the suicide helpline) puts the caller in touch with a support network that is ready to listen and offer support. The National Police on 091, the Local Police on 092 and the Guardia Civil on 062 are also available 24/7.
![[]](http://static.vocstatic.com/voc26/latest/assets/images/favicon/surinenglish/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png){kind=icon}