New father barricades himself inside Mallorca hospital maternity ward and threatens to burn himself to death

After being told he would lose custody of his newborn child, a Moroccan man threatened to burn himself to death after barricading himself inside the maternity ward of a Mallorca hospital.

A man of Moroccan origin, believed to have been around 40 years old, was arrested this Friday, March 17, after barricading himself in the Maternity area of ​​a hospital on the Balearic island of Mallorca. The man threatened to burn himself to death in front of his wife and newborn daughter.

The incident occurred at around 1;20pm at the Son Llatzer Hospital in the island’s capital of Palma de Mallorca. According to the Ultima Hora news outlet, citing sources close to the event, the North African locked himself inside the facility’s Maternity ward.

After being informed by the IMAS that he would lose custody of his newborn daughter, the man allegedly made the threat to set fire to the maternity ward, which included his wife, his child, and himself.

He was inside the room – where his wife had given birth one day previously – for at least 60 minutes. Even the arrival of National Police officers did nothing to persuade him to open the door. The man resisted all attempts by a trained negotiator to calm his frame of mind.