Published October 1, 2017 at 5:53 PM Updated October 1, 2017 at 8:32 PM
Violence broke out in Catalonia as voters attempted to cast their ballots in an independence referendum. Spanish officials say the poll is illegal, and police blocked many from casting their votes.
Horrific images from Catalonia show police clashing with voters outside of polling stations. People are bloodied and battered, having attempted to vote in an independence referendum that Spain says is illegal.
Among the polling stations targeted was one in Girona, where Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was set to vote.
“The irresponsible and unjustified use of violence from the Spanish state will not undermine the desire of the Catalan people to peacefully and democratically vote,” Puigdemont said afterwards.
But the Spanish government defended the actions of the police.
“The Spanish police have fulfilled the orders of justice,” Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said. “They have acted professionally and in a proportional and proportionate manner.”
It was an altogether different story before dawn at a polling station in central Barcelona. Voters flooded the streets to block the path of the police and keep the polling stations open.
“I don’t know how much violence there can be. But it is a possibility,” one witness said. “So it is an act of responsibility. It is for everybody, our children, our families. That’s why we do this.”
Catalan police arrived ahead of the vote but left without confrontation shortly afterwards.
Catalonia Independence Referendum Violence
Spanish Guardia Civil guards drag a man outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. (AFP PHOTO / Raymond ROIG)
Catalonia Independence Referendum Violence
Firemen try to hold a group of people in front of Spanish Guardia Civil officers outside a polling station in San Julia de Ramis, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. (AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE)
Catalonia Independence Referendum Violence
People help a man injured by a rubber bullet fired by Spanish police officers outside the Ramon Llull polling station in Barcelona October 1, 2017 during a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. (AFP PHOTO / Fabio Bucciarelli)
Catalonia Independence Referendum Violence
Spanish policemen try to control people attending a demonstration in support of the referendum in Catalonia on October 01, 2017, in Granada. (AFP PHOTO / JORGE GUERRERO)
Catalonia Independence Referendum Violence
People clash with Spanish Guardia Civil guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. (AFP PHOTO / Raymond ROIG)
Spain Catalonia
Journalist take pictures as a volunteer, acting as polling station official, unseals a ballot box after the polling station closed at the Escola Industrial in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Spanish riot police, acting on orders from the Spanish government to stop the voting, which Spain's Constitutional Court had declared illegal, smashed their way into Catalan polling stations Sunday to try to halt a disputed referendum on independence.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
APTOPIX Spain Catalonia
Youngsters wave esteledas, or Catalonia independence flag, and shout slogans in front of giant screen at the end of the 'Yes' vote closing campaign in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Catalonia's planned referendum on secession is due be held Sunday by the pro-independence Catalan government but Spain's government calls the vote illegal, since it violates the constitution, and the country's Constitutional Court has ordered it suspended. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Spain Catalonia
Volunteers, acting as polling station officials, start to count ballots after the polling station closed in the Poble Nou neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Spanish riot police, acting on orders from the Spanish government to stop the voting, which Spain's Constitutional Court had declared illegal, smashed their way into Catalan polling stations Sunday to try to halt a disputed referendum on independence.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Spain Catalonia
Three man hold to each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a voting site to prevent would-be voters from voting at a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Spanish riot police have forcefully removed a few hundred would-be voters from several polling stations in Barcelona.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Spain Catalonia
Voters crowd the room at a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government at the Gracia neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, 1 Oct. 2017. The Spanish government and its security forces are trying to prevent voting in the independence referendum, which is backed by Catalan regional authorities. Spanish officials had said force wouldn't be used, but that voting wouldn't be allowed. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
CORRECTION Spain Catalonia
Spanish riot police swings a club against would-be voters near a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Spanish riot police have forcefully removed a few hundred would-be voters from several polling stations in Barcelona. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain Catalonia
Spanish riot police removes fences thrown to them as one aims his rubber bullet rifle as they try to prevent people from reaching a voting site at a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, 1 Oct. 2017. Catalan pro-referendum supporters vowed Saturday to ignore a police ultimatum to leave the schools they are occupying to use in a vote seeking independence from Spain. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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An hour before the polls opened, ballot boxes arrived in black bin liners. But as people began casting their votes, the Spanish National Police and the Guardia Civil arrived at polling stations across the region.
Chaos and violence ensued.
One clash saw the national police scuffle with Catalan police, while another saw fighting break out with Catalan firefighters.
Across Barcelona, however, lines of people continued to build as thousands cast their votes.
“I was not scared, but I thought maybe something might happen,” one voter said. “It definitely puts some anxiety in the people. And it is not positive, all these police here. It is like a military state.”
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