A 27-year-old man was caught red-handed by the Public Security Police (PSP) after scaling the walls of the Condes da Lousã Basic School in Amadora and stealing belongings from several teachers at the institution.
The PSP was alerted to the incident last Wednesday, July 31, while the theft was being carried out by the suspect. When the authorities arrived, the man allegedly “fled through the classroom window,” the police stated in a communiqué.
“With the information available, the Rapid Intervention Team officers conducted a sweep of the area, intercepting the suspect who was escaping on foot in an adjacent street to the theft location,” the statement continued, adding that the suspect was arrested around 10:30 p.m. that same day.
“Following inquiries at the site, it was determined that the suspect had hidden the stolen items in an abandoned house near the school.” Police proceeded to this location, where they not only found the teachers’ belongings but also evidence related to other thefts believed to have occurred the same day.
In the communiqué sent to the newsrooms, the PSP also highlighted that the suspect has “a vast criminal record,” being associated with “a large wave of crimes throughout the national territory.” Besides theft and burglary (notably in commercial establishments and inside vehicles), he is suspected of possessing illegal weapons, vehicle theft, drug trafficking, grievous bodily harm, resisting and coercing an officer, and hazardous driving.
In March of this year, during an escape after stealing a car in Coimbra, the suspect allegedly deliberately collided with two police vehicles and also attempted to run down two PSP officers.
The suspect has already been brought before a first judicial interrogation and is currently held in preventive detention.
