A tense two-hour police operation unfolded in central Madrid on Monday after a ‘bloodied’ man threatened to blow up an apartment.
The 30-year-old Colombian, with a criminal record, had barricaded himself inside his apartment on Calle Montera, threatening to explode butane gas cylinders and ‘kill his neighbours.’
The incident began at around 4.30pm, when a resident alerted police after seeing the man, his arms covered in blood, carrying a gas cylinder into number 42 Calle Montera while shouting threats and insults.
The suspect, a resident of the building, then appeared on a third-floor balcony, throwing objects – including a gas cylinder – onto the street below, though no injuries were reported.
At one point, he threatened to set off another cylinder inside the flat, before leaning dangerously over the balcony railing and threatening to jump. Firefighters deployed a large safety mattress on the street as a precaution.
Police negotiators, backed by emergency services and the Policia Nacional’s Prevention and Reaction Unit, worked to contain the situation.
The standoff ended just after 6pm, when officers moved in as the man brandished a lighter in front of the gas cylinder. He was detained and taken under guard to Madrid’s Hospital Clínico for medical assessment.
The incident caused disruption in the busy Gran Vía–Montera area but ended without casualties.
