Spanish authorities issued a call for calm on Sunday in the town of Torre Pacheco, near Murcia in southeast Spain, following a second consecutive night of anti-immigrant riots sparked by the assault of a pensioner by three young people currently being sought by the police.
“Torre Pacheco must return to normality (…) I understand the frustration, but nothing justifies violence,” wrote Fernando Lopez Miras, the conservative president of the Murcia region, on social media platform X, assuring that the attack on the retiree would not go “unpunished.”
The town’s mayor, Pedro Angel Roca Ternel, also from the conservative Popular Party (PP), urged residents to remain calm, speaking on the public broadcaster RTVE. He emphasised not to confuse “criminals” with the wider immigrant population, who have come “to work.”
These appeals follow another tumultuous night in Torre Pacheco, a town of 36,000 on the Mediterranean coast, with Saturday’s riots leaving several injured, according to local authorities.
