Malaga beach theft and stabbing victim's girlfriend highlights support they received from witnesses

His girlfriend told SUR about the incident and the support they received from witnesses on the day.

Lorena and Gael (not their real names) arrived in the Costa del Sol from Argentina just over two months ago, looking for a brighter future and jobs. Gael was due to sign a contract and start working at a hotel the week after the attack.

The two went to the central La Malagueta beach on 14 July to catch a break, after arranging and collecting all documents they needed to register as legal residents.

At around 3.30pm, they were rinsing the sand off at the beach showers, a few metres from their towels. "At one point I looked over at our things and my rucksack was gone," Lorena said.

They both panicked, because the bag contained their passports, documents, mobile phones, wallets and house keys.

"A British tourist told us that someone had taken it," Lorena said. That's when they saw a man running off across the sand with the bag. "My boyfriend ran after him because all our belongings were inside. We were particularly worried about our documents. I stayed on the beach," she said.

The minutes ticked by and Lorena began to get anxious when she realised Gael wasn't coming back.

"I was still worried about the documents. I thought my boyfriend had lost sight of the thief and would carry on looking for him," she thought, without imagining what had happened.

After a while, a group of people went to find and tell her that her partner had been injured and to show her where he was. "The first thing I saw was the ambulance and the police. That's when I got really scared, but then I saw him lying on the ground, losing a lot of blood," Lorena said, still shaken by the severity of the attack.

Lorena's account reconstructs the desperate chase that nearly cost her partner his life.

Gael followed the suspect to a car park near the beach. "The thief hid in the car park. My boyfriend went to look for him and a witness told him where he'd been hiding. That's when the man came out of nowhere and stabbed him in the stomach," Lorena said.

The blade of the knife penetrated Gael's body by about five centimetres. "It pierced his chest, his stomach and an artery in his abdominal muscles. They had to resuscitate him at the scene and in hospital because he nearly bled to death," she explained.

The assailant tried to flee after the assault, but the public's reaction proved decisive. "The locals who were in the area detained him on the spot. A man, who I don't even know but would love to thank, and other residents acted quickly to corner him until the police arrived," she said.

The suspect, a British national, was arrested within minutes.

The emergency services stabilised Gale and rushed him to hospital. For Lorena, the moments following the attack turned into a nightmare.

"I got into the ambulance with him without knowing what was going to happen. The surgery at the hospital lasted over two hours. I suddenly found myself completely alone, disoriented and overwhelmed by worry. We don't have anyone here in Spain," Lorena explained.

Lorena believes that Gael has lost the job, because the hotel would have hired someone else by now. "It's all very complicated at the moment," she said.

The day before the assault, the couple suffered another incident. "My electric scooter was stolen too. I'd left it securely locked up at the Malaga Centro-Alameda central station. When I came back, it was gone. Although, of course, compared to what happened to my partner, the scooter incident is nothing," Lorena said.

She is currently handling the legal proceedings alongside her solicitors following the complaints with the National Police.

Despite the injuries from which Gael is still recovering and the huge scare, Lorena has focused on the solidarity she found in the face of witnesses during those critical few minutes. The kindness of bystanders gave her a sense of comfort.

"A group of people who were on the beach and several tourists stayed by my side the whole time to help and support me. They were so kind. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. They gave me water, they comforted me… Just as my boyfriend was helped by the people on the street. The people of Malaga were absolutely brilliant to us at such a difficult time," she said.

After several days of uncertainty, during which Gael remained in a critical condition and was on life support following the complex surgery, the prognosis is that he will be able to recover from his injury.

"It's been a very difficult few days, but fortunately everything is improving well. He's making progress step by step," Lorena said, looking forward to her partner's full recovery so they can move on.

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