The Costa del Sol has been rocked by three brutal attacks in less than a month, including two shootings and the suspected gangland stabbing of a wheelchair user.
The latest bloodshed came in the early hours of Monday, when a 33-year-old man was shot dead in the middle of a Marbella street.
It followed the killing earlier this month of a 25-year-old man in Mijas who had already been confined to a wheelchair after surviving a previous shooting.
And at the end of July, a Lithuanian man was shot multiple times in broad daylight near a popular Estepona chiringuito.
The three incidents stretch along a relatively small section of the Costa del Sol, from Estepona to Marbella and Mijas.
They come amid mounting concern about the presence of organised crime groups in southern Spain, although police have not established that all three attacks are connected or gang-related.
Indeed, investigators have so far said the latest Marbella killing is not being treated as organised crime, while all lines of inquiry remain open.
July 28: Lithuanian shot outside Estepona beach bar
The first of the three attacks happened in broad daylight on Tuesday, July 28, close to Sonora Beach, a well-known chiringuito on the eastern side of Estepona.
Emergency services began receiving calls at around 5.30pm reporting gunshots in the Los Granados area.
A 31-year-old Lithuanian man was found seriously wounded.
Reports at the time said he had been struck multiple times, with SUR reporting that he had been shot four times.
The gunman arrived in the area, approached his target and opened fire before fleeing.
The wounded man was rushed to hospital while police launched an investigation. No arrests had been announced in the immediate aftermath.
August 10: Wheelchair user stabbed to death in Mijas
Less than two weeks later came an even more extraordinary killing.
A 25-year-old man who used a wheelchair was stabbed in the chest inside a property in Mijas Golf on the afternoon of Monday, August 10.
A friend rushed the gravely injured victim to the Hospital Costa del Sol, but doctors were unable to save him.
The man’s background immediately became a focus of the investigation.
He had been paralysed in a previous shooting in 2022, leaving him dependent on a wheelchair.
Spanish reports said the victim also had an extensive criminal history and had previously barricaded himself inside his home on two occasions.
According to Cadena SER, investigators were considering whether the murder could have been an ajuste de cuentas (a gangland settling of scores).
The same report said the victim had previously been arrested over several serious incidents, including the stabbing of his stepfather in 2020 and an incident involving gunfire against Guardia Civil officers in 2023.
There have been no confirmed arrests.
August 24: Man executed in Marbella street
Exactly two weeks later, the violence returned to Marbella.
At around 2.15am on Monday, August 24, emergency services received several calls reporting a fight and gunshots on Calle Pintor Pacheco, close to the La Bajadilla marina.
Responders discovered a 33-year-old man lying dead in the street with two gunshot wounds to his torso.
Footage shared online showed the victim lying in the road as police secured the scene. Paramedics could do nothing to save him.
His body was subsequently taken to Malaga’s Institute of Legal Medicine for a post-mortem examination.
The Policia Nacional’s specialist UDEV violent crime unit in Marbella has taken charge of the homicide investigation.
Some early reports suggested witnesses had heard several shots before seeing a vehicle speed away from the scene. However, police have not publicly identified the killer or disclosed a motive.
Crucially, investigators have not currently linked the killing to organised crime, but all possibilities remain under investigation.
Growing concern over organised crime
The three attacks do not necessarily form part of the same phenomenon, and there is currently no suggestion that they are connected.
But their concentration along the Costa del Sol in less than four weeks will inevitably renew concerns about violent crime in an area that has long attracted international criminal organisations.
The latest incidents come as pressure grows on the Spanish government to devote more resources to tackling organised crime across Andalucia.
Junta president Juanma Moreno last week demanded the restoration of OCON-Sur, the Guardia Civil’s former elite anti-narcotics unit, arguing that drug mafias have turned Andalucia into one of their principal ‘bases of operations’.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
