A US tourist was killed and another injured during an attempted robbery in Cascais on Wednesday, according to a source from the Lisbon Metropolitan Command (Cometlis) of the Public Security Police (PSP), speaking to Lusa news agency.
The three suspects have since been arrested and are being questioned by the Judiciary Police (PJ), CNN Portugal reported.
“One of the young men died at the scene, while the other sustained injuries to his face and arms and was taken to hospital,” the same source said, adding that the incident occurred near the Church of the Navegantes. The attack was allegedly carried out by three assailants who fled the scene by car.
The death of the American tourist was first reported this morning by Correio da Manhã, which stated that paramedics from the National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM) attempted to resuscitate him, but the wounds were deep and in vital areas.
The second victim was taken to Lisbon’s Santa Maria Hospital, according to the same newspaper, which added that the investigation is now being led by the Judiciary Police. In a statement, the PSP said it was alerted to the incident at 3:20 a.m. on Rua Afonso Sanches, in Cascais. Upon arrival, officers found two men “covered in blood”, one, aged 35, showing “no obvious signs of life,” and the other, aged 34, “conscious and seated on the pavement” with minor injuries to his face and right elbow.
The injured man told police that he had been walking back to his local accommodation when he was approached by three men who, “in a provocative manner, tried to touch the hat he was wearing.” The victim said he asked them to stop, but was “immediately punched three times in the face.”
He then called a friend who was at a nearby bar on Travessa da Alfarrobeira. The friend arrived “moments later,” at which point “a verbal altercation broke out between them and the three suspects.” One of the attackers then pulled out a knife and “struck several blows to the victims’ faces, arms, and backs.”
According to the PSP, “the fatal victim was stabbed in the back, while the survivor sustained minor injuries to his arms and face.” The three suspects fled the scene in a car parked nearby but were later apprehended.
Emergency medical teams from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) attempted to resuscitate the man, but the stab wounds were deep and struck vital areas, authorities said.
The second victim was taken to Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon. Despite suffering deep cuts to his face and arms, he is no longer in critical condition, according to hospital officials.
