Man seriously injured in stabbing at five-star hotel in Barcelona

A man has been seriously injured in a stabbing at a five-star Barcelona hotel.

The 23-year-old was knifed in the neck following a row with three men who fled the scene following the violent broad-daylight attack.

The incident happened just after 5.30pm on Monday at the city centre Casa Fuster Hotel, on the Catalan capital’s emblematic Paseo de Gracia avenue which is one of its most important shopping and business areas.

The victim, a guest at the hotel believed to be from Eastern Europe, was reportedly beaten up by the aggressors before one of them stabbed him twice in the neck.

Witnesses alerted the emergency services and police raced to the scene but the suspects had already got away by the time they arrived.

The stabbing happened inside the hotel, considered one of the top luxury hotels in Spain, although it is not yet clear where exactly it occurred.

No arrests have yet taken place but detectives are analysing hotel CCTV footage and other cameras in the area for clues.

A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force said on Tuesday: “We can confirm a person was injured in a stabbing near the Paseo de Gracia avenue around 5.30pm yesterday.

“That person was taken to hospital but his life is not in danger.

“An investigation is ongoing. No arrests have yet taken place.”

Asked if the attack had happened inside the Hotel Casa Fuster the police spokesman said: “We wouldn’t name the hotel but we’re not saying exactly where it occurred due to a privacy matter with the hotel.”

The man stabbed, said to be in a “serious” condition in hospital on Tuesday morning although his life is not in danger, is understood to have been staying at the hotel for some time.

The men who attacked him have been described locally as visitors.

Ten days ago five masked men posing as police officers were filmed kidnapping a semi-naked victim on a motorway near Barcelona in broad daylight in front of terrified motorists forced to stop behind them.

The abductors brought traffic on the busy AP-7 running along Spain’s Mediterranean coast to a standstill before dragging the man out of the vehicle by his feet and bundling him into a car behind.

The men had covered their faces with balaclavas and were wearing police hi-vis jackets and had also put a fake police siren on top of one of the cars they used to box in their hostage target.

His face was clearly bloodied and he appeared to be wearing no trousers and just underpants as he tired after a brief struggle from the back seat of his car before being hoiked out.

The dramatic abduction occurred around 7.30pm on 21 September near the turn-off for Montornes del Valles close to Barcelona.

Police later confirmed the man snatched had been found elsewhere and had not suffered any serious injuries but said they were still hunting his abductors.

They have not said why he was targeted although the incident is thought to be linked to a drugs feud between rival gangs.

Scott Manson, the former professional footballer fictional protagonist of a crime thriller series by late Scottish author Philip Kerr, explicitly mentions his fondness for the hotel where yesterday's incident took place.

Although he is forced to stay at a different team hotel for business meetings, Manson notes in False Nine which is the third book in the series that he significantly prefers the Hotel Casa Fuster.

The 1908-built hotel has a two-star Michelin restaurant on its first floor. It has 105 rooms and suites as well as a spa, gym and rooftop terrace the hotel says “offers the most exclusive atmosphere in Barcelona.”

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