Malaga province records third shooting in one week as two injured in Alhaurín el Grande drug heist

The incident occurred inside a residential property on Sunday 20 September, placing it chronologically between the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old in Malaga city's Barcenillas district and a targeted ambush at a waterfront restaurant on Muelle Uno.

Local Police and Guardia Civil officers responding to the scene discovered bullet holes piercing the front door of the house. A tenant present at the property - a Belgian national of North African origin - was uninjured.

However, two companions who sustained gunshot wounds had already transported themselves to hospital prior to the arrival of law enforcement. Investigators suspect the shooting stemmed from a botched drug rip-off.

The violence began on Friday 18 September at around midday, when 20-year-old Malaga resident Nacho was shot dead while sitting on a public bench in the Barcenillas neighbourhood.

Nacho had no criminal record or ties to organised crime. National Police officers arrested three alleged perpetrators - all Swedish nationals of sub-Saharan African origin - in a swift operation.

Investigators established that the gunmen mistook the victim for a rival hitman because he routinely sat on the bench wearing a shoulder bag, an accessory commonly used by Swedish gang members to conceal firearms.

The third attack occurred on the evening of Tuesday 22 September at a restaurant along Malaga's Muelle Uno waterfront. A 49-year-old Turkish national, who was dining with a friend and two women, was shot in the face by two hitmen. The victim survived the attack and remains in hospital.

Turkish media outlets have identified the victim as a prominent football ultra connected to Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü, a club whose radical fan factions have historical links to organised crime.

The main theory is that the incident was a settling of scores, which could lead to a war between two of the main Turkish mafia groups. Sources do not rule out the possibility that the trigger for this latest violent episode is linked to the murder, on Sunday, 3 August 2025, of Caner Koçer (a member of one of these gangs) in Torrevieja (Alicante). Following that crime, members of the gang publicly called for revenge on social media.

The drugs and organised crime unit (Udyco) of the Malaga provincial police have now taken charge of the investigation to clarify what happened at Muelle Uno and track down the alleged perpetrators, who acted in plain sight and managed to slip away after leaving their target seriously injured.

More than 100 CCTV cameras monitor every corner of this open-air central area of the city and many of them managed to capture the hitmen at various stages of the sequence of events: before, during and after the crime.

"Muelle Uno is a safe place. If there is any concern, it is not because of this specific case, but because there have been seven incidents of this kind in our province this year. It is clear that there is a problem and the authorities must tackle it head-on. As for security at Muelle Uno, there are no concerns," the open-air shopping centre's management told the public.

In addition to CCTV, there are usually six security guards on duty at any one time in the shopping centre, plus the guard manning the security post at the car park entrance, from where the live footage is monitored. In fact, the security guards who were on duty on Tuesday night were the first to arrive and attend to the victim.

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