OFFICERS opened fired at a petrol station in Barcelona after being confronted by a gang of lorry thieves.
The dangerous incident unfolded at the EsclatOil petrol station in Badalona on Friday, May 22, at approximately 11.30pm.
Police had been monitoring a criminal group, who are part of a gang specialising in looting cargo from lorries parked at motorway service areas and industrial estates along the AP-7.
Four suspects were identified at the petrol station by a joint operation involving the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Badalona Guà rdia Urbana.
One suspect attempted to flee on foot and was quickly intercepted and arrested by local officers.
The remaining three suspects jumped into a BMW, which had been reported stolen, and accelerated aggressively towards the plainclothes police officers who were attempting to block their path.
Shocking footage shows the officers opening fire at point black range into the vehicle, perilously close to petrol pumps as the suspects collided with a police car.
They eventually managed to escape the scene and speed away onto the B-20 highway, despite apparent gunshot wounds.
The suspects successfully evaded capture that night but had abandoned the BMW on the C-60 motorway near La Roca del Vallès by 4am.
Mayor of Badalona, Xavier Garcia Albiol, has since publicly backed the officers involved, demanding that police be granted greater latitude to tackle the changing nature of modern highway crime.
He warned that without increased authority, the situation on the roads will continue to deteriorate.
The shootout follows a separate firearms incident earlier the same day in Calafell, where a person was left injured after being shot.
These events have reignited public debate about the rising levels of violence in Catalunya and the ease of access to firearms for criminal gangs.
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