Victims irked as Spain lets gunman die before trial

By CIARÁN GILES
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s assisted suicide law is in the spotlight after doctors allowed the death of a former security guard who faced trial for having stormed his former workplace a year ago, shooting and wounding three people and later a police officer. The man, known in Spain as “the Tarragona gunman,” applied for assisted suicide after he was left with quadriplegia when police subdued him in a shootout after the attack. Victims had argued that he should not be granted an assisted suicide before his trial, but Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled that the accused’s rights prevailed. A lawyer for the wounded officer said Spain’s law needs to be reformed to prevent similar cases in the future.