More than 60 graffiti artists storm Barcelona Metro
Police arrest 14 after guard attacked and four trains graffitied
More than 60 graffiti artists stormed the Barcelona Metro on Tuesday morning, attacking facilities and a security guard on the L5 line at the Vall d'Hebron station.
Barcelona Metropolitan Transport (TMB) reported 62 individuals to police after they damaged the station entrance, the ticket barrier and security cameras before reaching the platform where they assaulted a metro security guard and graffitied four trains and parts of the station.
Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police, with the help of metro security guards, made 14 arrests.
It is the biggest graffiti attack in the history of TMB in terms of number of people and trains.
The four trains were removed, leading to some delays.
After preliminary damage assessments, TMB estimates that the approximate cost will exceed €50,000.
Attack condemned
The president of TMB, Laia Bonet, strongly condemned the attack: "These acts of vandalism physically endanger metro security guards, and at the same time create serious harm to the public by degrading an essential service, public transport, and generating a totally unjustified cost to public spending."
"We cannot allow this type of attack to occur and that is why TMB will act with the utmost intensity and determination, using all the tools at our disposal, to prevent situations like this from happening again," Bonet said.