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Façade of the building where the incident happened, in San Pedro Alcántara. Josele
Man who barricaded himself inside Marbella property with his flatmate held hostage at knifepoint is arrested
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Man who barricaded himself inside Marbella property with his flatmate held hostage at knifepoint is arrested

After a tense stand-off in San Pedro Alcántara, a National Police negotiator eventually managed to convince the individual to hand over the large bladed weapon

Juan Cano

Malaga

Friday, 7 June 2024, 10:35

A man has been arrested in Marbella after barricading himself inside his home with his flatmate, whom he held hostage at knifepoint for several hours. A police negotiator managed to convince the man to hand over the weapon, allowing officers to enter the flat and make an arrest without injuries being suffered.

The detained man, who is Spanish, lives in Calle Guadalajara, in the town of San Pedro Alcántara. His neighbours, who have known him all his life, say that he used to make a living as a butane gas delivery man, but that the death of his mother, some years ago, affected him greatly and he began to behave in an unusual manner.

In recent weeks, both the Local and National Police had gone to the area on several occasions to respond to calls from neighbours who reported that he had thrown stones at them or had thrown flower pots from his house.

On Thursday 6 June, in the early hours of the morning, there was a similar call and Marbella police mobilised several officers to go to the scene. In the first intervention, the officers tried to arrest the man, but were unsuccessful.

He then barricaded himself inside the house armed with a large kitchen knife and took his flatmate hostage. Rumours in the neighbourhood suggested that he had stabbed his flatmate, but this was soon dismissed.

Tense moments followed, as the man refused to leave or allow officers to enter. The police operation was extensive, with officers stationed around the building and also on the roof. A drone was also used to monitor possible exit routes from the building to prevent an escape.

The kidnapping lasted all morning until, thanks to the intervention of a National Police negotiator, the man allowed the officers to enter and handed over the weapon with which he had threatened the hostage. At around 1.45pm, the victim came out, visibly upset, amidst cheers and applause from local residents.

The incident happened just a week after another man, nicknamed 'El Chumbo', had the Guardia Civil on high alert after barricading himself in his house in Campillos with a shotgun. Despite the police cordon, he managed to escape through a small hole that led to the false ceiling of the neighbouring house. He was arrested 48 hours later, after hiding inside the boot of a car.

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