Liverpool man was shot five times outside Solly's Diner in Puerto Banus

Liverpool man shot five times in Puerto Banus in a bungled assassination attempt .
The expat, in his 30s and thought to be from Liverpool, was blasted in the face, leg, arm, pelvis and genitals as he left a restaurant.It was the third shooting in the Costa del Sol resort in five weeks, and took place just yards from packed bars and shops.The victim was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery but amazingly survived.
Blood stains can be seen on the road outside Solly's Diner where the British man was shot five times.He had just left Solly's Diner, a British restaurant in Puerto Banus, and was about to get into his dark blue BMW when he was shot in broad daylight at 7.30pm last night.The gunman approached him, pulled out a weapon and shot him five times before walking calmly away, witnesses said.The victim collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood as panic broke out among people drinking or shopping nearby.
Incredibly, he was still conscious and able to mutter a few words when an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later. One witness told a local newspaper: "We thought they were fireworks until we saw the victim on the ground, with his face destroyed, full of blood."It was like a film his body was convulsing, but he managed to utter a few words." A police source said it was "a miracle" that he had survived the shooting.
One report said the gunman was also thought to be British.He walked away "in complete calm" then got into a waiting getaway car, a witness said.The shooting is being investigated by police from Malaga's Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO.
Forensic teams spent yesterday evening searching the scene for clues while detectives began studying CCTV footage.Local reports said the victim had lived in Marbella for several years.

One witness said the victim had sat drinking coffee for several hours on the terrace of Solly's Diner before he was shot.

He said: "He sat on his own with a coffee. He was talking constantly on his mobile. Once in a while he got up, walked up and down the street and then sat down again."


A spokeswoman for the Costa del Sol hospital said: "The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds in his right leg, pelvis, genitals, right arm and right eye.

"He was operated on during Wednesday night and he in now in intensive care in a serious but stable condition."


A spokesman for the National Police in Marbella said: "We are investigating a shooting in Puerto Banus but cannot give out any more information at this stage."


Detectives are investigating possible links to two recent shootings in Marbella.

Three people were injured in a shootout in the Aloha Gardens restaurant on 21 August.

And two more were injured in another shooting at the Nikki Beach nightclub on 22 August.

Read more...

Peter Mitchell hit sitting with a number of associates drinking in the El Jardin bar

Peter Mitchell was sitting with a number of associates drinking in the El Jardin bar which is a hundred yards away from his own premises when the hitman struck on Thursday night.The gun man thought by locals to be a Moroccan hired by a drug gang – jumped out of a car and ran towards Mitchell.As Mitchell ran to the back of the bar to make his escape it is understood that the gun man fired at least four shots hitting him twice in the shoulder.According to eyewitnesses, the potential killer slipped and fell as he ran and as a result two innocent Irish people were hit by stray bullets.The hitman ran to a waiting car which was found burned-out some time later.
Yesterday, Mitchell was described by the Costa del Sol Hospital as not being in any danger. He was surrounded by his cronies and wife Sonia Walsh in a private room at the hospital.His cousin Christy Mitchell, who acts as his relation’s bodyguard, answered the phone in the gangster’s hospital room. The convicted drug dealer who is also from the inner city told a reporter: “Peter’s not around, he’s gone out for a jog but he wouldn’t speak anyway. We don’t speak to journalists.”Two other men one of whom is believed to be Irish were shot in a separate incident in the early hours of yesterday morning.The men got into a row at the trendy Nikki Beach, a venue popular with Irish and UK expats and holiday makers, in the resort of Elviria 10 minutes from Marbella town centre.Although some of those involved in the shooting are associates of Mitchell’s, it is understood the shooting was the result of a drunken and cocaine-fuelled row that got out of control.As a result of the shooting incidents, which have claimed five casualties in just over 24 hours in Marbella, the Spanish police are expected to launch a major offensive against the crime gangs who are destroying one of the wealthiest holiday hot spots in Spain.

Read more...

Peter "Fatso" Mitchell and two other men received bullet wounds as they sat drinking beer on the pub terrace near the Costa del Sol

Peter "Fatso" Mitchell and two other men received bullet wounds as they sat drinking beer on the pub terrace near the Costa del Sol resort of Puerto Banus. Four shots were fired by a masked gunman, two of which hit 39-year-old Mitchell in the shoulder and arm. He was last night recovering in hospital. Spanish authorities said his injuries were not life threatening. The shooting happened around 11.40pm on Thursday night outside the El Jardin bar in the Aloha Gardens complex, a popular tourist area in the upmarket residential suburb of Nueva Andalucia.
The two other men shot -- aged 45 and 73 -- received flesh wounds to the arm and leg respectively. Both have already been discharged from hospital.
Local reports said that the two other victims were Irish nationals. However, Spanish authorities refused to confirm this last night.
Spanish authorities said a gunman wearing a balaclava fired the shots after running up to where Mitchell was sitting. He then jumped into a white getaway car, which sped away from the scene and was later discovered abandoned a short distance away.
The identities of the other two injured men were unknown last night. However, Spanish officials described them as innocent holidaymakers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Mitchell, originally from Summerhill in Dublin's north inner city, is a former lieutenant of jailed drug baron John Gilligan. He fled Ireland in 1996 amid the unprecedented garda crackdown following the assassination of journalist Veronica Guerin.
Murder
Mitchell was a close friend of another Gilligan gang member, Brian Meehan, who is the only man to have been convicted of Guerin's murder.
The Special Criminal Court, which jailed Gilligan for 20 years for drug trafficking, heard evidence that Mitchell was part of a gang which imported vast amounts of cannabis into the country. Detectives believe Mitchell remained heavily involved in drugs rackets after fleeing to Spain. He had also been running the Paparazzi bar in Puerto Banus until it closed earlier this year after failing to secure a music licence. One witness, Sara Lopez (23), said: "I heard four pops like fire crackers and the next minute I heard screaming and looked up to see an old white car racing away from the scene.
"A man was lying on the floor of the terrace outside the bar and writhing around in agony with blood coming from his shoulder as the first of the police cars turned up." All three shooting victims were rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in nearby Marbella. Spanish police said the elite Malaga-based Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit were assisting local officers in the investigation.
Recent reports said Mitchell was selling his €1.2m villa in Puerto Banus following the closure of his pub and a falling out with associates. His bar had been frequented by Dublin hitman Paddy Doyle, who was himself shot dead in the nearby Costa del Sol town of Cancelada near Estepona in February.
Doyle, who was originally from Dublin, died after he and his friend Gary Hutch were ambushed in his 4x4 outside an apartment complex. Hutch survived the shooting.
Nueva Andalucia is a residential area behind the upmarket Puerto Banus port where thousands of Irish and British expats and holidaymakers party every summer alongside multi-million-euro yachts and expensive sports cars. High-profile summer residents include British PR guru Max Clifford.
The area is also home to a string of golf courses, a casino and a bullring.
But Irish, British and eastern European criminals behind shady drugs deals and prostitution also frequent its bars and restaurants. And the street where Thursday's shooting happened has been the scene of several violent shootings in recent years

Read more...