Two more suspects, both minors, have been arrested in Spain over the weekend killing of a young gay man that sparked nationwide protests, police said Friday.
Samuel Luiz, a 24-year-old nursing assistant, was out with friends in the northern city of Coruna in the early hours of Saturday when an argument started outside a nightclub.
His friends told Spanish media that Luiz was making a video call when two passersby accused him of trying to film them on his phone. When Luiz explained he was talking to a friend by video, he was attacked by one of the passersby, leaving him with a badly bruised face.
Shortly after, the attacker allegedly returned with several others who beat Luiz unconscious. He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries later on Saturday.
“Two new arrests, two minors of Spanish nationality, linked to the Samuel homicide, bringing to six the number of people detained at this stage,” the national police tweeted on Friday.
Four suspects aged between 20 and 25 — three men and one woman — had been arrested over the death earlier in the week.
None of the suspects knew the victim, police told AFP.
The assailants shouted homophobic slurs while beating Luiz, according to his friends’ version of the events.
Police have not yet deemed it a homophobic attack, a spokesman saying “all hypothesis are open”.
The attack coincided with Pride celebrations in Spain and sparked protests in cities including Madrid and Barcelona on Monday night to demand better protection for gay people.
Demonstrators carried signs with slogans including “what they call you while they kill you matters”.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the killing, calling it a “savage and merciless act” in a tweet.