Walter Finch
A TERRIFYING mid-afternoon shoot-out which sent onlookers scurrying for cover and shocked Marbella has been solved.
Three suspected gangsters have been arrested in France for shooting up a restaurant in Puerto Banus in broad daylight in the summer of 2023.
The dramatic scenes unfolded on a stifling afternoon on July 18 of that year when a trio of mafia wearing balaclavas descended on a restaurant in the popular resort at around 5.45pm.
Video of the incident at the time captured a young man in a cap and a West Ham United shirt calmly striding towards the restaurant spraying bullets from an uzi in an attempted assassination of a mafia rival sitting on a terrace.
READ MORE: WATCH: Moment man opens fire with automatic gun in Marbella
The footage shown by Marbellasequeja shows several young men in swimming shorts running for cover before a marked man carrying an automatic weapon approaches. He fires a shot before running from view.
But miraculously, despite blazing away with his submachine gun, their target managed to escape unharmed.
Three men aged 23, 26, and 28 have finally been arrested nearly 18 months later following a complex international investigation.
The would-be assassins targeted a member of a rival criminal group during the attack.
Despite firing at least two shots, their target managed to escape the restaurant unscathed.
In a further twist, the criminals’ getaway vehicle was later found completely burned out on the outskirts of San Pedro de Alcantara.
The burning car in the mid-summer sun triggered a forest fire that engulfed 1.47 hectares of local woodland.
Marbella’s Organized Crime Unit spent months tracking the suspects, ultimately securing European arrest warrants that led to their capture in France.
The three men are now facing serious charges including attempted murder, membership of a criminal organisation, and arson.
The case continues to be investigated by Marbella’s Court of Instruction Number 2.
