Terror in Spanish Nightclub As Holidaymakers Flee Gunman
British holidaymakers dive for cover during shooting incident at upmarket nightclub near Marbella
British holidaymakers were forced to dive for cover during a shooting incident at an upmarket Spanish nightclub early yesterday in which three people were injured.
Shots were fired as fighting broke out at the Nikki Beach disco, near Marbella, where guests included the British actress Jennifer Metcalfe from the soap opera Hollyoaks.
Two men were taken to hospital after being shot. One is a 42-year-old who was injured in both legs, while the extent of the injuries to the second remains unclear. A third is believed to have needed treatment for a cut hand.
One witness said: 'It was absolute pandemonium. People ran for their lives. Chairs and bottles were flying all over the place. Some people ran for cover as it all kicked off, and others just dropped to the ground and covered their heads as best they could to protect themselves. The minute they realized someone had been shot there was a mass surge for the door as people tried to get out of the club as quickly as possible.'
It was the second shooting incident in just 48 hours in the area. Last Thursday Peter Mitchell, 39, who has connections to the jailed Dublin gangland criminal John Gilligan, survived after being shot outside a bar on a complex in Puerto Banus, near Marbella. Two bystanders, including a 72-year-old Irishman, were also hit after a masked gunman burst into the bar and fired four shots before escaping in a white BMW.
Gardai believe the attempted murder of Mitchell is linked to threats against Gilligan both inside and outside Ireland's top-security Portlaoise jail. Mitchell had fled to Spain after the 1996 murder of the investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.
He was one of a number of gangsters targeted by the Garda and the Criminal Assets Bureau. During Gilligan's trial on drugs charges, he was named as one of Gilligan's gang and security sources in the Republic are now linking the attempted murder on the Spanish coast to a new campaign by rival Irish criminals against Gilligan and his associates.
Shots were fired as fighting broke out at the Nikki Beach disco, near Marbella, where guests included the British actress Jennifer Metcalfe from the soap opera Hollyoaks.
Two men were taken to hospital after being shot. One is a 42-year-old who was injured in both legs, while the extent of the injuries to the second remains unclear. A third is believed to have needed treatment for a cut hand.
One witness said: 'It was absolute pandemonium. People ran for their lives. Chairs and bottles were flying all over the place. Some people ran for cover as it all kicked off, and others just dropped to the ground and covered their heads as best they could to protect themselves. The minute they realized someone had been shot there was a mass surge for the door as people tried to get out of the club as quickly as possible.'
It was the second shooting incident in just 48 hours in the area. Last Thursday Peter Mitchell, 39, who has connections to the jailed Dublin gangland criminal John Gilligan, survived after being shot outside a bar on a complex in Puerto Banus, near Marbella. Two bystanders, including a 72-year-old Irishman, were also hit after a masked gunman burst into the bar and fired four shots before escaping in a white BMW.
Gardai believe the attempted murder of Mitchell is linked to threats against Gilligan both inside and outside Ireland's top-security Portlaoise jail. Mitchell had fled to Spain after the 1996 murder of the investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.
He was one of a number of gangsters targeted by the Garda and the Criminal Assets Bureau. During Gilligan's trial on drugs charges, he was named as one of Gilligan's gang and security sources in the Republic are now linking the attempted murder on the Spanish coast to a new campaign by rival Irish criminals against Gilligan and his associates.
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