Courts allowed the man’s assisted death after rejecting several appeals from his victims, who argued he should face justice. The case even reached the Constitutional Court, which refused to deliberate on it, saying that there had been no violation of fundamental rights.
Disgruntled former security guard Eugen Sabau, 46, shot three of his colleagues, including a woman, at the security services company where he worked in the northeastern city of Tarragona, then wounding a police officer while escaping.
Sabau died at 18.30 local time this Tuesday, according to a source from the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Prison authorities were not available for comment, and Sabau’s attorney had no comment.
Spain legalized euthanasia just over a year ago. Before that, helping someone end their life carried a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
After Sabau barricaded himself in a house with an arsenal of weapons, a tactical police unit stormed the place, shooting him several times.
The “Gun of Tarragona”, as the Spanish media referred to him, was left with quadriplegia and a leg was amputated. His injuries caused chronic pain that could not be treated with painkillers due to his frail condition, which he said made his existence unbearable.
A Tarragona court ruled that it was Sabau’s fundamental right to request euthanasia given these circumstances.