Former European Parliament Vice President Shot In Face In Madrid

The bullet went through the 78-year-old politician's jaw.

The ex-head of the Popular Party of Catalonia, former vice-president of the European Parliament Alejo Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face, Reuters reports.

The attack occurred at about 13.30 local time in the central district of Madrid, Salamanca. The bullet went through the jaw of the 78-year-old politician. The hospital where Vidal Quadras was taken said that his life is not in danger.

The motive of the attack has not been established, and the shooter has not been caught. According to the law enforcement version, the perpetrator drove up to Alejo Vidal-Quadras on a motorbike, shot him in the head, then fled the scene of the attack and burned the vehicle. The police assume that the shooter acted with an accomplice.

Vidal-Quadras was a member of parliament in the province of Catalonia from 1988 to 1996 and was head of the local Popular Party organisation for five years. In the late nineties, he represented the region in the Senate for three years and then was a MEP and vice-president of the European Parliament for 15 years.