An attack in Madrid against migrants following the reported rape of a 14-year-old Spanish girl has ignited social tensions across the country just days after riots erupted when a teen ‘migrant’ died in Switzerland.
The latest assault targeted a centre housing young migrants after the arrest of one of its occupants – a Moroccan teenager accused of raping the girl.
On Sunday evening, two hooded individuals attacked three people near First Reception Centre in the Spanish capital – two minors and an accompanying adult.
One child was left needing hospital treatment before being discharged and police have since opened an investigation.
Francisco Martin, the representative of the socialist-led national government in the Madrid region, condemned the violence, warning: ‘Hate speech ultimately manifests itself in hate crimes.’
He vowed to apply the ‘full force’ of the law against those responsible.
The Moroccan youth was arrested on Friday morning on suspicion of raping the 14-year-old in a nearby park. A judge has since ordered that he be held in a closed juvenile prison while inquiries continue.
In the wake of the arrest, the conservative regional government led by Isabel Ayuso announced plans to request that the accused be included in a group of 37 migrant minors deemed ‘maladapted’ and considered for repatriation.
Protesters wearing masks and balaclavas hold chains, sticks and baseball bats during the fourth night of riots on July 14, 2025 in Torrepacheco, in the province of Murcia, Spain
The violent confrontation was sparked by the beating of an elderly resident the night before, allegedly by assailants who were of North African origin
Francisco Martín (pictured on Monday) has criticised the regional Popular Party government for its reaction to the arrest
That sparked a furious backlash. Spain’s ruling left-wing coalition accused Ayuso and her Popular Party of exploiting the case to push their hardline stance on migration, and of echoing the rhetoric of the far-right Vox party.
Martin said: ‘Madrid has recorded 256 rapes this year, yet only this case elicits such political zeal… It is unacceptable to criminalise vulnerable populations.’
Vox wasted no time in escalating its anti-immigrant message, calling for a demonstration outside the centre.
Its Madrid spokesman, Javier Ortega Smith, claimed: ‘The sexual assault against a 14-year-old in Hortaleza is a consequence of the ‘progressive consensus’ embodied by both the socialist party and the Popular Party.
‘This disastrous policy of open borders… allows violence to become widespread in neighbourhoods hosting these reception centres.’
By Monday, police had stepped up security, with vehicles and around 10 officers stationed outside the entrance.
The shocking incident comes just weeks after violent unrest in Torre Pacheco, Murcia – another flashpoint in Spain’s growing anti-migrant hostility.
In July, riots erupted after a 68-year-old man was attacked by three North African youths.
That assault triggered days of racially charged retaliation in the San Antonio neighbourhood, home to many migrants and agricultural workers.
Social media posts fuelled false claims and claims to ‘hunt immigrants’, leading to street clashes between locals and migrants.
Far-right groups exploited the chaos, while police made arrests and prosecutors launched hate crime investigations.
Where to house migrant children has become one of Spain’s most diverse political issues.
Reception centres for unaccompanied minors are fiercely resisted by regional governments who warn about overcrowding, security, and pressure on local services.
Right-wing parties often portray them as hotbeds of crime and social tension.
It comes just days after the death of 17-year-old Marvin ‘Shalom’ Manzila in Lausanne which sparked rioting.
Dozens of flowers, candles, letters and pictures of Marvin have gathered in the spot where he died
A young person walks past fires in a street, in Lausanne, on August 25, 2025, following Marvin’s death
Protesters burn containers during the second night of riots following the fatal accident involving a minor on a scooter in Lausanne, Switzerland, 25 August 2025
Marvin’s real interest was in building his rap career under his stage name MNS, and posting the results on YouTube or Instagram.
Riot police clashed with around 200 protesters in the neighbourhood of Prélaz on August 25
Lausanne police, called to reports of a stolen motor scooter, soon identified Manzila as a suspect – and gave chase when he refused to pull over.
During the pursuit that followed, the boy lost control of the vehicle and was flung into a nearby wall, suffering a fatal head injury.
Marvin’s violent death in the early hours of last Sunday morning marked a final straw for many of those living in the city’s multicultural neighbourhood Prélaz and soon the demonstrations turned to rioting.
But the Daily Mail revealed that – for all the talk in the country about immigration that his death has inspired – Marvin was actually born in Switzerland.
His birth certificate shows he was born in the country on 13 July, 2008, to parents of Congolese descent but who had been granted Swiss citizenship, the youngest of three brothers.
Whether he had stolen the scooter remains unclear – his family insist he hadn’t.
Speaking to the newspaper, his distraught mother insisted: ‘My son wasn’t a scooter thief. He wasn’t a bandit, he wasn’t known to the law. He was never a complicated child. He was stable.
‘We didn’t see a scooter stolen from home. There was a group effect. They passed this scooter around among the kids.
‘Who brought this scooter? We don’t know. Talking about it makes my stomach ache.’
