Former PP Leader Shot In Madrid

AN assassination attempt was made today on the former leader of the Spanish People’s Party (PP).

On Thursday, November 9, at around 1:30 pm the former president of the PP of Catalonia and the founder of Vox, 78-year-old Alejo Vidal-Quadras, 78, remarkably survived after he was shot in the face, writes El Pais.

The incident happened while he was walking along Calle de Nuñez de Balboa, in central ​​Madrid. Reportedly the victim was shot in the face with the bullet entering his jaw and leaving an exit wound.

Emergency services in Madrid confirmed the incident and the extent of his injuries on social media: ‘The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the mandibular area with an entry and exit hole.’ They later added how they, ‘stabilised a 78-year-old man with a gunshot wound and transferred him to a hospital in Madrid.’

The National Police have confirmed that Vidal-Quadras has been admitted to the Gregorio Marañon Hospital in a serious condition. Despite the severity of the injury, his condition has been described as not life-threatening.

Initial investigations revealed that the attack was carried out by two individuals. Eyewitnesses reported that a person wearing a black motorcycle helmet with a blue coat and jeans had been acting suspiciously near Vidal-Cuadras’ home, in the Salamanca district of Madrid.

The attack was witnessed by several people who said that the gunman approached the politician, who was walking alone after attending mass, and shot him from a distance of about two metres.

After the incident the gunman ran away and headed towards a waiting motorcycle, believed to be a Yamaha TMAX motorcycle parked nearby. Another man, who face was also hidden by a motorcycle hemet, was waiting for him.

The two suspects made a quick getaway, with the attacker riding pillion, down a no-entry road heading towards the nearby Hermosilla street. Eyewitnesses describe the gunman as a ‘young, small man.’

Police are not treating the incident as a terrorist attack. The Ministry of the Interior has reported that officers from the Homicide Group of the Madrid Police Headquarters are conducting the investigation, rather than a specialised terrorism team.

Further investigations are being carried out by forensic police specialists who have been deployed to the scene of the crime. Several blocks in the area have been cordoned off to collect evidence that is hoped will allow the suspects to be identified.