The assassination of Juan María de Araluce Villar was a mass shooting attack by the Basque separatist group ETA which took place on 4 October 1976 in San Sebastián in the Basque Country in northern Spain. Three ETA members carrying pistols and submachine guns killed Araluce, the Government appointed President of the Provincial Deputation of Gipuzkoa and member of the Council of the Realm. Araluce's driver was killed in the attack together with three police guards.[1] Ten bystanders were also injured in the attack, which was ETA's deadliest of 1976.
Juan María de Araluce Villar, a native of Santurtzi,[2] had fought as a pilot with the Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. In the post war period, he worked as a notary until 1967 when he became a member of the Cortes Españolas, the Spanish "parliament" under the Franco regime. He was appointed head of the Guipuzkoan deputation in 1969.
The attack
At between 14:20 and 14:25 in the afternoon, Araluce's driver was waiting outside his home on Avenida de España,[3] accompanied by a second vehicle carrying an escort of three police officers.[4] When Araluce got into his car, four ETA members who had been waiting nearby in the bus station approached the vehicles.[4] Two produced pistols, while the other two produced submachine guns. They proceeded to open fire on the cars, concentrating their fire on the second car, which contained the police officers.[4] Hearing the gunfire, Araluce's wife and most of his nine children, who had been having lunch on the fifth floor of the building where he lived, rushed to the street. Although it had been badly damaged by gunfire, his son drove the car which contained his father to the nearby hospital. However doctors were unable to save Araluce. All three of Araluce's escort were killed at the scene, while his driver died at 11pm the same day in hospital.[4] The killers then escaped in a car, which was found abandoned later the same day in the Loyola district of the city, bearing false number plates.[4] In a communique issued from Paris the same day, ETA claimed responsibility for the attack.[1]
Reactions
The assassination received almost universal condemnation from the main Spanish political parties, while the Cortes adjourned for a day as a mark of respect for Araluce.[5]
References
^ ab"ETA reivinca el atentado", El País, 5 October 1976
^"Juan María de Araluce, regionalista y moderado", El País, 5 October 1976
^Map of the attack scene, ABC, page 9, 5 October 1976
assassination, juan, maría, araluce, villar, assassination, juan, maría, araluce, villar, mass, shooting, attack, basque, separatist, group, which, took, place, october, 1976, sebastián, basque, country, northern, spain, three, members, carrying, pistols, subm. The assassination of Juan Maria de Araluce Villar was a mass shooting attack by the Basque separatist group ETA which took place on 4 October 1976 in San Sebastian in the Basque Country in northern Spain Three ETA members carrying pistols and submachine guns killed Araluce the Government appointed President of the Provincial Deputation of Gipuzkoa and member of the Council of the Realm Araluce s driver was killed in the attack together with three police guards 1 Ten bystanders were also injured in the attack which was ETA s deadliest of 1976 Assassination of Juan Maria de Araluce VillarPart of the Basque conflictLocationSan Sebastian SpainDate4 October 1976 14 25 UTC 2 TargetJuan Maria de Araluce VillarAttack typeMass shooting machine gun attackDeaths5Injured10PerpetratorsETANo of participants4 Contents 1 Target 2 The attack 3 Reactions 4 ReferencesTarget EditJuan Maria de Araluce Villar a native of Santurtzi 2 had fought as a pilot with the Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War In the post war period he worked as a notary until 1967 when he became a member of the Cortes Espanolas the Spanish parliament under the Franco regime He was appointed head of the Guipuzkoan deputation in 1969 The attack EditAt between 14 20 and 14 25 in the afternoon Araluce s driver was waiting outside his home on Avenida de Espana 3 accompanied by a second vehicle carrying an escort of three police officers 4 When Araluce got into his car four ETA members who had been waiting nearby in the bus station approached the vehicles 4 Two produced pistols while the other two produced submachine guns They proceeded to open fire on the cars concentrating their fire on the second car which contained the police officers 4 Hearing the gunfire Araluce s wife and most of his nine children who had been having lunch on the fifth floor of the building where he lived rushed to the street Although it had been badly damaged by gunfire his son drove the car which contained his father to the nearby hospital However doctors were unable to save Araluce All three of Araluce s escort were killed at the scene while his driver died at 11pm the same day in hospital 4 The killers then escaped in a car which was found abandoned later the same day in the Loyola district of the city bearing false number plates 4 In a communique issued from Paris the same day ETA claimed responsibility for the attack 1 Reactions EditThe assassination received almost universal condemnation from the main Spanish political parties while the Cortes adjourned for a day as a mark of respect for Araluce 5 References Edit a b ETA reivinca el atentado El Pais 5 October 1976 Juan Maria de Araluce regionalista y moderado El Pais 5 October 1976 Map of the attack scene ABC page 9 5 October 1976 a b c d e La Vanguardia page 5 5 October 1976 La Vanguardia page 6 5 October 1976 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Assassination of Juan Maria de Araluce Villar amp oldid 1104693373, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
