By Yzabelle Bostyn and Tom Ewart Smith in Malaga
MALAGA locals have blamed tourism and immigration for the brutal murder of an American priest.
The body of Father Richard Gross, 80, was found in a holiday apartment on January 20 after neighbours alerted the police to ‘agonising screams’ that ‘sounded like someone being killed’.
Gross was staying in the bottom flat of a Holidays2Malaga property at 4 Calle de Viento, the Olive Press can reveal.
Locals are blaming ‘mass tourism’ and immigration for the tragedy, claiming criminals are being increasingly attracted to the city to ‘take advantage’ of ‘vulnerable tourists’ staying in the area.
“I think tourism is to blame, 20 years ago when it was all locals living here, you’d check if you heard screams but these days people just assume its holidaymakers returning from the bars,” said a 44-year-old bricklayer whose entire family lives in the neighbourhood.
“Tourists also take less care with their belongings and don’t report when they’ve been robbed which attracts more criminals.
“I’m scared, we need more cameras, more police. But the government won’t say anything because it will scare off tourists.”

All of the locals consulted by the Olive Press believed the crime was a robbery gone wrong carried out by ‘Moroccan’ immigrants.
Franco, who owns nearby Bar Mariscal, said: “My TV was taken a few weeks ago and the police did nothing. There are a lot more immigrants here who don’t have any other way to make money. Violent robberies are also becoming more common. It’s not safe, many of us can’t sleep, we’re at the mercy of God.
“There are robbers targeting tourists because they are vulnerable and won’t go to the police. They wait until the bars close and then they strike.”
The 38-year-old claimed ‘all of Malaga’ is the same, with areas outside the historic centre becoming ‘increasingly dangerous’ due to a lack of police presence and security cameras.
He added: “Once you cross Calle Carreteria (the street which separates the old town from the rest of Malaga), there’s no surveillance.”



Irene, a cleaner at the neighbouring Simba Apartments agrees: “There are a lot of robberies. They take advantage of people on holiday, they come here to hunt.
“They robbed a house down the street and used a wheelbarrow to cart out their loot…they are brazen, shameless.”
While walking around the La Goleta neighbourhood, the anti-tourism sentiment was palpable, with the phrase ‘guiris go home’ emblazoned across doors and walls.
Meanwhile, cooking teacher at Luz y Tierra Laura Aguilar disagreed: “I’ve lived here for eight years and I’ve never had any problems.
“But it is true that there are a lot of tourists and immigrants in this area, and that means you don’t know anyone. Anyone could be a suspect.”
However her father, Pedro Pastor, 94, added: “It is bad here, in Madrid and Barcelona. If you walk down the street in the capital, it’s all foreigners. Immigrants take advantage of that.”
Malaga is nothing more than a small fishing port without the tourists and holiday residents. Likewise the majority of the coastal areas of Spain, particularly in the south. The authorities should concentrate some efforts on protecting the holidaymakers.