Officers from the Guardia Civil are investigating a trend which is starting to spread through social media, where plaudits are earned by smashing vehicle´s mirrors and posting the results of both the act and the damage on the internet.
So far, three people have been arrested in Santa Pola (Alicante), all of them male, two of them technically children, on suspicion of nine offences of causing damage to vehicles, according to a statement from the Guardia Civil.
The evidence suggests that the three young men, two of them 17 and the third 18, caused damage to vehicles by smashing the mirrors, and then disseminated videos through social networks, which of course led to a “massive disapproval from the owners”.
So far, nine vehicles have been identified as being damaged, the repair of two of them already costing more than 1,600 euro.
On Sunday, September 9, several vehicles parked in the street were damaged, mostly in the mirrors, and videos recorded on mobile phones showed what appeared to be the identified arrestees kicking the vehicles and then bragging about their actions.
Eventually, realising the backlash that spread through social media and that the Guardia Civil were investigating the offences, the suspects, “decided to voluntarily present themselves at the offices of the Guardia Civil in Santa Pola, where they were arrested on suspicion of up to nine offences of causing intentional damage.
After giving their statements, the three were released and the case referred to the courts in Elche, and, in the case of the younger two, to the Juvenile Prosecutor in Alicante.
The overall assessment of the damage is yet to be determined, and will be based on expert analysis of the damage, but so far, it is known that the figure is, “more than 1,600 euro for the repair of two of the vehicles,” according to the Guardia Civil, and will increase once the other 7 have been assessed, although the investigators have not ruled out identifying more vehicles.
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