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A teenager has been taken into custody after two women were attacked in their hotel rooms in the Fuerteventura resort of Costa Calma.

 

The two assaults happened months apart but detectives soon spotted similarities they say point to the same suspect.

 

The first attack was on Saturday December 16 last year, when a woman was left seriously hurt in her hotel room. The second happened on Sunday June 23 this year, just a short walk from the first scene. In both cases the attacker got into the women’s rooms and left them with serious injuries.

 

One of the victims was rushed to Fuerteventura General Hospital with wounds to her head, hands and arms. Police haven’t revealed the nationalities of either woman.

 

Investigators from the Guardia Civil say CCTV was key to cracking the case. Footage from the June attack showed someone running from one of the hotels, and when officers compared it to images from December, they saw enough in common to link the two.

 

A search of the suspect’s home turned up clothes believed to have been worn during the assaults, along with other items that may be connected to the incidents. Several mobile phones were also seized for examination.

 

The teenager was arrested on Friday July 18, around a month after the second attack, but news of the arrest has only just been made public. His exact age hasn’t been released, but police confirmed he is a minor.

 

A judge has ordered he be held at the Tabares Juvenile Centre in Tenerife while the criminal investigation continues.

 

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil said: “The Civil Guard in Fuerteventura has arrested a minor as the alleged perpetrator of two crimes of serious wounding in Costa Calma in the municipality of Pajara. The victims are two women who were staying at hotels in the area.”

 

Officers say they are still working to establish a motive for the attacks, which are being investigated under the name Operation Praktiker.

 

 

Images: Guardia Civil