In a statement, the PSP says that in total there have been 147 incidents registered in 12 municipalities in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area: Almada, Amadora, Barreiro, Cascais, Lisbon, Loures, Odivelas, Oeiras, Seixal, Setúbal, Sintra and Vila Franca de Xira.

There was also a fire at a recycling point in the city of Leiria.

The most recent incident was recorded this morning, in the Lisbon parish of Benfica, where 10 cars were burned, and a 44-year-old man was arrested “in flagrante delicto”, on suspicion of arson, according to the PSP note.

“The police officers used the fire extinguishers present in the vehicles, together with the Fire Department, to combat the fires. Various material suspected of having been used in the outbreak of the aforementioned fires was seized from the detainee,” says the PSP.

Regarding the incidents that occurred since October 21st, following the death of Odair Moniz, a 43-year-old Cape Verdean citizen and resident in Bairro do Zambujal, in Amadora, the PSP reiterates that “several incidents of disorder and fire were recorded in urban furniture (mainly in rubbish bins), essentially in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area”.

In addition to 23 suspects arrested, another 23 were identified.

Seven people were injured, including two police officers, who were stoned, and five citizens were “stabbed” or burned, including the driver of a bus that caught fire in Santo Antônio dos Cavaleiros, in the municipality of Loures, who suffered serious injuries.

Also according to the PSP, following the unrest, since last week 39 cars and eight motorcycles have been set on fire.

Six buses also suffered damage, four being set on fire and two being stoned.

Five PSP vehicles were also damaged – “shot, set on fire, stoned” – and “pyrotechnic devices” were thrown at a police station.

In the note, the PSP reiterates that it is “committed to maintaining public order, peace and tranquillity, throughout the national territory, namely in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area”.

“The PSP repudiates and will not tolerate acts of disorder and destruction carried out by criminal groups, committed to confronting the authority of the State and disturbing the security of the community, groups that are part of a minority and that do not represent the remaining Portuguese population that only wishes and wants to live in peace and tranquillity”, says the note.

Promising to do everything, in coordination with other security forces and services, to “bring to justice the suspects of all the crimes that have been committed in recent days”, the PSP also once again appeals for calm and tranquillity.

Odair Moniz was shot by a PSP agent in the early hours of October 21, in the neighbourhood of Cova da Moura, in the same municipality, and died shortly afterwards, in hospital.

According to the PSP, the man “ran away” in a car after seeing a police vehicle and lost his way in Cova da Moura, where, when approached by the agents, “he resisted arrest and tried to attack them using the bladed weapon.”

The SOS Racismo association and the Vida Justa movement contested the police version and demanded a “serious and impartial” investigation to determine responsibilities, considering that “a culture of impunity” in the police is at stake.

The General Inspectorate of Internal Administration and the PSP opened investigations, and the agent who shot the man was named a defendant.