Teenager arrested after punching the Spanish prime minister in the face

(Image credit: Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty Images)

published 17 December 2015

While on the campaign trail in Galicia on Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was punched in the face by a 17-year-old.

The teenager was standing next to Rajoy when he suddenly punched him, knocking his glasses to the floor, Politico reports. The prime minister was caught off guard and started to fall, but people around Rajoy prevented him from hitting the ground. Several television stations were filming the event in the town of Pontevedra, and captured the attack on camera. The teenager, police said, was arrested at the scene. Afterwards, Rajoy was seen with a red mark on his face, but said he was "fine, great, no problem."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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