Government eyes increasing prison sentences for firearms possession 

The Interior Department has demanded that prison sentences for possession of firearms be increased to 5 years. It is currently set at a 2 year sentence. 

The Department also suggests that sentences for large-scale cultivation and trafficking of marijuana should be increased from the current 1-3 year range to 6-9 years. 

Though the start to 2026 has had fewer firearm incidents in years past, there is still push for harsher punishments. 

In the first quarter of 2026, the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, recorded 23% fewer incidents involving firearms compared to 2025.

From January to May of 2026, there are 7.8% fewer firearm incidents when compared to the same period in 2025.

The interior ministry also noted that 90% of the cases involving firearms took place at the coast, a similar number to the 87% recorded in 2025. 

50% of the weapons in firearm incidents in 2026 are classified as "doubtful" because these weapons have not been recovered. Outside of that, 35% of the incidents are with "fake" weapons, and 15% of them have been classified as "real." 

This is a shift from 2025, where 47% of incidents were classified as "doubtful", 25% "fake" and 20% classified as "real."

Authorities also discovered that over half of the weapons that were seized in 2025 were short-barreled weapons (54%). In 2026, that number jumped to 70% of the weapons being short-barreled, based on the data from the first half of the year. 

So far in 2026, there have been 24 incidents with "real shots," last year recorded 93 for all of 2025. 

The Mossos recorded 18 injuries and 6 deaths by firearm in 2026, compared to 28 injuries and 8 deaths last year. In the 6 incidents this year, there have been links to various organized structures, most of them linked to drug trafficking. 

The case of the death of a man on Wednesday on Balmes Street is still being investigated for potential links to drug trafficking.