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Experts call for an end to the easy sale of knives in Barcelona
Barcelona is once again talking about safety with a concern that is hard to conceal. Recent shootings and several knife incidents in the city and its metropolitan area have created an uncomfortable feeling: some violent episodes no longer occur only at dawn or in isolated places, but also in the middle of the street and in view of neighbours, businesses and families.
The case in Marina de Port, where a man was shot dead on a public street, has raised alarm again. The Mossos are investigating whether the crime may be related to score-settling and criminal networks, a hypothesis linked to other recent violent episodes in Barcelona and surrounding municipalities.
The concern is not limited to firearms. In May, the metropolitan area recorded several serious knife incidents in just 24 hours, with two fatalities, arrests and several people injured. Such events reinforce the request by some specialists: better control of the sale and possession of knives, machetes and penknives in public spaces.
The debate has also reached Congress, where proposals to tighten rules on the sale and use of bladed weapons are being considered. The discussion is not simple. Some experts doubt that further bans will be enough unless they are accompanied by prevention, work with young people, police oversight and a swift judicial response when there is repeat offending or serious assaults.
One of the most worrying points is the presence of minors in increasingly violent fights. The warning does not come only from police forces: educators, neighbours and security specialists warn of a change of scale in some youth conflicts, where an argument can end with penknives, machetes or even firearms.
Barcelona also appears on the map of drug-trafficking networks because of its port, airport and road links. In April, a joint operation dismantled an organisation that brought cocaine in through El Prat, with 13 arrests, more than 1,200 kilos of drugs seized and firearms confiscated.
Even so, it is advisable not to mix everything together. A youth fight, an assault with a bladed weapon, a group engaged in violent robberies and an international drug-trafficking organisation are not the same thing. Putting all these phenomena under the same label can fuel fear, but does little to find solutions.
According to specialists, the response must be broader than a simple police presence. There is a need for better control of certain points of sale, earlier identification of minors at risk, stronger investigation of criminal networks and avoidance of normalising episodes of violence in the most strained neighbourhoods. Barcelona is not living through a film of permanent crime, but it is going through a moment in which some boundaries have shifted. And that is noticeable on the street.