A member of a group of youths that has occupied two properties in the centre of Santa Cruz de Tenerife threatened several neighbours with a knife this Wednesday as he exited one of those homes.
The incident occurred after 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday while the community was gathering their thoughts in The Toscal. This group of young individuals, reportedly more than a dozen according to local residents, occupied their first house on El Greeting Street days prior and another on Ravina 2 Passage this Tuesday evening. It is important to note that many terrestrial properties in the El Toscal area are in a state of disrepair, including the two recently occupied houses.
Approximately twenty neighbours convened at the upper end of Ravina 2 Passage, a small pedestrian lane bordered by derelict houses, when suddenly two young men exited the occupied house number 10.
As two neighbours approached them to request that they vacate the property, as it had owners, one of the occupants confronted them and brandished a knife in a threatening manner. This resulted in a scuffle fueled by the defiant behaviour and insults from the two occupiers.
The youths, apparently of Moroccan origin, left for Santiago Street while maintaining their provocative demeanour amidst shouts from the residents who had gathered in the area.
Police intervention on Wednesday night in the Ravina 2 Passage of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. / Ed
At around 8:00 p.m., three National Police vans arrived and spoke to the neighbour threatened by one of the occupants with the knife, as well as engaging with other occupants still inside number 10 of the Ravina 2 Passage. One of them, a young woman, showed the officers some documents regarding registration requests in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
After conversing with this young woman, the national police informed the neighbours that “they could not take action” as it constituted private property and they could not enter without a court order. Regarding the knife threats, they simply advised that a statement had been filed by the affected individual.
Additionally, officers sought to reassure the residents, who were expressing their distress over the insecurity felt since the occupation of these two houses by this group of youths. The police explained that while they could reassure them, they must not take justice into their own hands or confront the occupants, awaiting the judicial process for a property usurpation complaint.
Some attendees expressed their frustration regarding the fact that the police could not intervene before the occupation of the two homes, and the anxiety that this group of youths, predominantly of Moroccan nationality, was causing.
One individual recalled that days ago at the other occupied house on El Greeto Street, there had been a disturbance, reportedly a fight between members of the same group, but officers were unable to act as upon their arrival the youths insisted that nothing had occurred and that the cuts on their arms were merely accidental.
Several witnesses of the occupation of the house on Ravina 2 Passage recounted the events that took place. It was on Tuesday night, February 11. “We had already noticed several young people loitering in this area, but we didn’t think much of it until that Tuesday night when we heard commotion outside. It seemed they were tampering with a door,” they shared.
The ‘occupied’ house on Ravina 2 Passage, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. / Ed
One witness even managed to photograph two of the occupants tampering with the door of house number 10, the facade of which suggests it is abandoned, as they gained entry to the interior.
The witnesses alerted the National Police and the Local Police, but both forces could not act since there was not yet a formal complaint from the owners and they could not enter the property without a court order. This same situation recurred the following day, Wednesday, after the altercation between two occupants and several neighbours.
The owners of number 10 on Ravina 2 Passage, who reside nearby, filed the necessary complaint with the National Police this Wednesday. Meanwhile, official sources from the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife confirmed that none of the youths in this group have been granted registration in the capital of Tenerife, and that an expulsion order is in effect for one of them.
Furthermore, these same municipal sources indicated that the owners of the house on Ravina 2 Passage had applied for a renovation licence to refurbish the property, effective from one floor. There is no information available regarding the other occupied house on the adjacent street El Greeto, other than it is also abandoned. No complaint has been filed regarding this property.
Residents are calling for urgent action to resolve what they perceive as “a hotspot of insecurity causing alarm within the community”. “Since their arrival, we have felt very uneasy. Their behaviour is provocative and there is fear that something serious could occur. I cannot recall a time when I have felt this way, with such palpable fear,” remarked one visibly anxious neighbour, who chose to remain anonymous due to concerns over reprisals.
