An unemployed Spanish man has been arrested after driving a car carrying gas cylinders into the headquarters of the ruling Popular Party in Madrid
An unemployed Spanish man has been arrested after driving a car carrying gas cylinders into the headquarters of the ruling Popular Party in Madrid.
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The incident happened early on Friday morning.
The driver, 37-year-old Daniel Pérez Berlanga, claimed that the explosives were going to go off within half-an-hour and blamed the government for his financial troubles.
The car did not explode and no-one was hurt. The area was immediately cordoned off and local metro stations closed while police examined the car.
El hombre detenido por #ataquesedePP atentaba contra todos los políticos porque "son iguales" http://t.co/p7O7Ly34Dw pic.twitter.com/7vl6jRlSoY
— La Provincia (@laprovincia_es) December 19, 2014
Police spokesperson Laura Garaboa said:“Two cylinders of butane gas were found in his vehicle, as well as a substance that is being analysed by police and explosives specialists.”
A government spokesperson said Pérez Berlanga was a businessman who had lost his properties. Residents in his home village of Teruel in north-east Spain said he was unemployed and had suffered from psychiatric problems.
Spain has more than five million unemployed – around a quarter of the population – and almost half of these have been out of work for more than two years.