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Police in Spain have arrested an Irish man on suspicion of having killed an Irish woman in a hotel in the northeast of the country.
Catalan police said they received a call late on Sunday night from the Magnolia hotel in the coastal resort of Salou, south of Barcelona, informing them a woman had been badly injured.
When they arrived at the scene, officers found a woman lying on the floor and a man sitting next to her with wounds. Emergency medical staff were unable to revive the victim and pronounced her dead. The woman appeared to have been strangled.
A man was arrested at the scene. Officers from the regional Mossos d’Esquadra force said he had sustained some injuries.
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The police later said the arrested man is 30. The woman was 36. The murder suspect is under police guard at Joan XXIII Hospital in the city of Tarragona, the capital of the province of the same name.
A minute’s silence for the victim was held at Salou Town Hall on Monday evening, organised by local people.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said consular assistance is being provided to the family of the woman killed.
“It’s shocking and particularly the fact that another woman has died as a result of a very violent attack, by all appearances,” he told RTÉ Radio 1.
Mr Martin said he did not yet have all the details about what had happened. “But it is very shocking news that a young woman should be killed in a violent manner ... and we await further news in respect of that,” he added.
“Our department officials are providing consular assistance there to the family and to do everything we can to help those impacted by that terrible event in Salou in Spain.”
A Garda spokesman said: “An Garda Síochána is aware of an alleged incident that took place in the Spanish town of Salou involving Irish citizens on Sunday July 2nd, 2023.
“As this is an investigation led by the Spanish authorities, An Garda Síochána has no further comment at this time.” – Additional reporting by PA
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