A 20-YEAR-OLD man who was gunned down in the centre of Malaga in the province’s third fatal shooting in little more than a week was not involved in organised crime, police believe.
Initially, investigators believed the shooting was a ‘targeted killing’ related to a dispute between rival gangs, with specialist officers from UDYCO and GRECO Costa del Sol – the police units responsible for drugs and organised criminal groups respectively – called in to assist the investigation.
But police now believe the youngster, who died from his wounds in hospital, may have been an innocent victim.
“The investigation remains open and has been classified as confidential, although the initial line of inquiry suggests that the victim is not linked to any criminal organisation or drug trafficking,” a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The victim, named publicly as Nacho, was sitting on a bench near his home on Calle Barcenillas shortly before midday on Friday when three men approached and opened fire without warning.
He suffered bullet wounds to his back and leg, with harrowing video footage of the incident showing the bloodied youngster crawling into a nearby Dia supermarket in Plaza Virgen del Rocio to seek help.
Witnesses quickly called the 112 emergency service, who dispatched an ambulance team to the scene.
Paramedics rushed the victim to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, although he later succumbed to his injuries.
All three suspects were detained.
The first was arrested shortly after the shooting by Policia Nacional patrol officers who quickly attended the scene, located near to the popular tourist zone of Plaza de la Merced.
The other two men fled the scene, prompting an urgent search across Malaga province.
Officers located a property used by the first detainee, carrying out a raid and arresting the second suspect there.
The third man had fled and altered his appearance in an attempt to avoid detection, but was tracked down and arrested at around 11pm on Friday evening on a street in Fuengirola.
The latest revelation raises the question of whether the young victim may have been an innocent bystander, a victim of mistaken identity, or purposely targeted for another unknown reason.
One hypothesis being pursued is that the three assailants suspected the victim was watching them from the bench and may have been a hitman.
The incident is the latest in a spate of shootings that have rocked the province in recent weeks.
Last week, a male victim in his 40s was gunned down in Zalea, a small village in the municipality, in a suspected settling of scores between rival drug gangs.
A woman was arrested by the Guardia Civil on suspicion of his murder.
The week prior, a Dutch national and a Policia Local officer were injured in another narco-related incident after gunmen opened fire in broad daylight near a hotel on Marbella’s luxurious Golden Mile.
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It’s like the Wild West eh?