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Elderly man killed by stray bullet in Malaga street shoot-out

The street where the incidwent took place.
The street where the incidwent took place. / SALVADOR SALAS
  • Six arrests were made after the fight between rival gangs in which shots were fired from a Kalashnikov assault rifle in the district of La Palmilla

A 74-year-old man was killed in his tenth floor home on Wednesday evening by a stray bullet from an assault rifle used in a fight between two rival clans in the street outside.

A bullet hole in a neighbouring building.

A bullet hole in a neighbouring building. / S. SALAS

The incident took place in La Palmilla district of the city, where police were called following reports of shots being fired.

The victim, Mateo Vallecillos, had no connection with the fight, but approached his window when he heard shots in the street.

The bullet, fired from a Kalashnikov assault rifle, went through the aluminium window frame and hit Mateo in the chest.

Officers found 20 cartridge shells in the area. Six young men, one of them a minor, were arrested.

Mateo, who lived with his wife, had five children, one a Guardia Civil officer and another a member of the Local Police force in Alhaurín el Grande.

The gathering to condemn violence.

The gathering to condemn violence. / MIGUE FERNÁNDEZ

Local residents gathered on Thursday in the local Manuel Navarrete park to condemn the violence in the neighbourhood of La Palmilla.

They criticised the authorities for not doing enough to prevent this type of episode in the area where "an armed minority take advantage of a situation of impunity, causing the majority of residents to live with fear and insecurity".