The perpetrator of the attack carefully planned the attack and fled to Italy before being captured in  Murcia.

A 23-year-old Spanish national has been arrested by the National Police in the city of Murcia as the alleged perpetrator of an attempted arson attack on a kosher restaurant in the center of Madrid last month, Spanish media reported.

The attack on the Rimmon pizzeria, which took place on March 4, was classified by the authorities as a hate crime, in addition to attempted murder and arson.

According to the investigation, the detainee purposely traveled to Madrid to carry out the criminal act.
Rimmon Kosher, which is located in the Chamberi district of the Spanish capital, is known for offering Jewish food and frequented by both members of the Jewish community and neighbors of the neighborhood. On the night of the attack, the establishment was open to the public and there were several diners and employees working inside, which, had the fire been consummated, could have had fatal consequences.

Police investigations have revealed that the detainee planned his action in advance. He traveled to Madrid from another location using a ridesharing platform, a method he probably chose to avoid leaving an easily recognizable trail. Once in the capital, and after acquiring flammable materials – including incendiary tablets and highly combustible cosmetic oils – he went to the restaurant at around 22:40.

Once there, the young man tried to start a fire using the products he had brought with him. However, thanks to the quick reaction of the restaurant staff, who managed to prevent the fire from starting, the attack did not have the outcome that the assailant intended. After the failed attempt, the suspect left the restaurant in a hurry.

When he flew the scene, the individual got rid of the cell phone he was carrying, as well as the clothes used during the attack. These movements, according to sources of the investigation, would have been made with the intention of avoiding identification and hindering police work. However, the agents managed to reconstruct his route thanks to other evidence and testimonies collected in the following days.

After being unaccounted for several weeks, the young man took refuge in a small town in northern Italy, where he managed to stay hidden for almost a month.

Subsequently, he returned to Spain, specifically to the region of Murcia, where he was finally located by the National Police and arrested at a private home.

After making a statement before the judge, he was placed in pre-trial detention, awaiting trial. The Prosecutor’s Office has requested that he be charged with hate crimes, attempted murder and attempted arson.

According to police sources, the detainee had no previous criminal record, but the meticulous planning of the attack and the specific choice of a Jewish restaurant as a target have led investigators to consider this act as an ideologically motivated attack.