A 40-year-old man violently pursued his ex-partner and their minor children by car this weekend in the parish of Olivais, Lisbon.
The chase was recorded on video and shared on social media. The footage shows one car pursuing another, with the rear bumper dragging.
At a certain point, the pursuing vehicle strikes the rear of the front car, causing it to lose control. Screams can be heard. The suspect exits his car and punches the victim’s car window multiple times. The victim eventually manages to accelerate and escape.
Victim Already Had a Panic Button for Ex
In a statement issued late Tuesday morning, December 2, to Notícias ao Minuto, the Public Security Police (PSP) revealed that the woman had already reported her ex-partner for domestic violence and had a panic button, which she activated upon seeing the suspect at her doorstep.
“The victim saw the suspect at her door when she arrived home in her vehicle, which prompted her to immediately activate the panic button to request help. Fearing her ex-partner, the victim did not stop at her residence and was pursued by the suspect on public roads, where he repeatedly attempted to ram the vehicle containing the victim and two minors,” explained the PSP.
According to the police, footage of the incident clearly shows that “when the victim’s vehicle was momentarily immobilized, the suspect exited his vehicle and struck several punches at the passenger window in an attempt to assault the car’s occupants.”
Minors Injured and Required Hospital Treatment
Due to the “various collisions between the vehicles,” the minors required “medical assistance,” as they sustained multiple “injuries from the violence of the incident,” the statement noted.
The PSP also highlighted that the video filmed by a “citizen and posted on social media” was “vital in identifying the suspect.”
Upon locating the suspect, who was already barred from approaching the victims, he was arrested outside the crime scene under a Detention Warrant issued by a Criminal Police Authority.
The man has since been brought before the Judiciary Authority for a first judicial interrogation and is now awaiting the application of a coercive measure.
