The Vice-President of the European Parliament Alejo Vidal-Quadras from Spain gestures while talking to the media at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday Jan. 27, 2009. Spanish police say that veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras has been taken to a hospital in Madrid after being shot in a street in the capital Police said that he was shot in the face on a central street around 1:30 p.m. local time and was conscious when taken to a hospital. (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier, File)

MADRID – Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras has been taken to a hospital in Madrid after being shot in a street in the capital, police said Thursday.

Police said he was shot in the face on a central street around 1:30 p.m. local time and was conscious when taken to a hospital.

Vidal Cuadras, 78, was a long-time member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, its regional leader in Catalonia, and a European Parliament member before he broke away to help found the far-right Vox party. He left Vox shortly after a failed attempt to win a European lawmaker seat in 2014.

Police are investigating the shooting.

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