A man has been arrested after allegedly storming Ronda Town Hall and threatening to kill the town’s conservative mayor.
The incident unfolded shortly after 9am on Tuesday, when workers heard shouting inside the building and found a man wandering through the corridors looking for the office of Maria de la Paz Fernandez.
According to municipal sources, the suspect entered the town hall – which reportedly has no security screening at its entrance – in a visibly agitated state, repeatedly shouting: ‘I want to see the mayor. Where is the mayor?’
He made his way to the first floor searching for Fernandez before leaving the building, allegedly shouting several times: ‘Tell her I’m threatening to kill her.’
Council staff immediately alerted the Local Police, who are responsible for security at the building.
While officers were already at the scene, the man allegedly returned to the town hall behaving in a similar manner, at which point he was arrested.
Fernandez later confirmed the incident in a post on social media and said she had also filed a formal complaint with the National Police.
The Partido Popular (PP) mayor condemned the incident, saying: ‘Politics has many positive aspects, such as serving your neighbours.
‘But sometimes political polarisation, the spread of misinformation and the increasingly hostile political climate provoke reactions like this that nobody should ever have to experience.’
Her statement prompted an outpouring of support online, although some users also questioned what had led the suspect to allegedly behave in such a way.
The motive behind the alleged threats has not yet been disclosed.
The investigation continues.
