Tim McNulty
A KNIFE wielding ‘maniac’ has caused British families to flee in panic from a popular resort on the Costa del Sol.
It comes after an armed man appeared on the third floor balcony of a flat overlooking Duquesa port and paraded a bloodied man ‘with his throat cut,’ in front of terrified expats and holidaymakers.
Police were called as the assailant held a ‘large kitchen knife’ to the unidentified man’s throat before the ‘hostage’ was blindfolded with a towel and had his hands tied to the railings.
“Suddenly there was all this commotion and I looked to see what was happening outside, then all these people started running into the bar,” a barman at the nearby Roadrunner told the Olive Press tonight.
“They were screaming that there was a man with a knife, everyone was looking up and could see the other man tied up and bleeding up on the balcony.”
A British couple from Grantham had been staying in the same block of flats, called Marina Real, and helped Guardia Civil gain access to the apartment by giving over their keys.
An officer in full body armour then entered the flat and arrested the attacker, who had reportedly tossed the knife over the balcony along with a number of mobile phones.
In a series of videos and pics, there seems to be a large volume of blood running from the unidentifiable victim’s neck.
Philip Day, a British oil worker living in Estepona, told the Olive Press: “The situation could have gone south real quickly.
“When I saw the man with the towel covering his face I thought he was going to kill him.”
Another British expat who asked not to be identified told the Olive Press the pair appeared to be Morrocan.
The woman, who has worked in Duquesa for a number of years said she had seen the victim around before and added that he had ‘seemed a nice guy.’
The extent of the man’s injuries are not known but he was rushed from the scene in an ambulance.
Another witness told this paper: “The guy with the knife seemed like a maniac, when police dragged him away he was smirking and winked at people… it was so weird.”
Police have yet to comment on the case.
More to follow.
