Man killed in Torremolinos shooting linked to unexploded bomb in Marbella

The 33-year-old Dutch national of north African descent, was shot at around 9pm on Saturday by an individual who burst into Tiki, a restaurant on the seafront at Playamar, with his face covered and opened fire, letting off seven shots without saying a word.

It was still quite early for a Saturday night and the only customers were the victim and his female companion who were dining at a table, and another foreign couple at the bar.

The waitress was about to serve the couple one of the dishes they had ordered when the incident occurred.

"I hadn't seen the man who fired the shots come in. When I heard the first shot I thought it was a balloon bursting. I didn't think it could be a gunshot, even though it was inside, but when I saw they were gunshots I dropped the plate I was carrying and ran to hide upstairs where we have a storeroom," said the witness.

She added that nearly all of the employees did the same, while another colleague locked herself in the toilets. "I hid in the storeroom out of survival instinct," she said. "His face was covered and he pointed [the gun] at everyone in the restaurant. He fired seven shots, but I was so nervous that I didn't see what he was shooting at," continued the waitress.

Another of the employees who was in the kitchen said he went out with the intention of following the attacker but when he saw how serious the incident was he also hid."

Quick response

The emergency services received numerous calls informing of the shooting and police were quickly deployed to try to intercept the suspects.

After the shooting, the gunman left the restaurant and escaped in a white van parked nearby where an accomplice was waiting. The van, which apparently had its back window missing, left in the direction of the motorway.

Sources close to the case said that police chased the gunman's van but lost sight of it on the motorway.

The emergency services rushed the victim to hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and upper body.