One of Britain’s most wanted criminals is reportedly on the run from Spanish police following the fatal shooting earlier this week of an Irish holidaymaker on the Costa del Sol.
Police say the suspect was ejected by staff from Coco’s Bar at the popular resort of Benalmadena but returned half an hour later with a gun and opened fire.
The gunman fired a number of shots – hitting 40-year-old Dublin plasterer John O’Neill – at the bar following what is reported as an argument over the use of a lavatory.
He escaped in the direction of the beach after he ran out of bullets.
Mr O’Neill, a father of two, and his partner had flown to Spain to attend the wedding of a friend. Mr O’Neill’s family has said he was not involved in the row.
According to local media reports, a search of the suspect’s flat in Benalmadena, near Torremolinos, led to the discovery of blood-stained clothes matching descriptions given by witnesses.
A European arrest warrant was issued by a Spanish judge yesterday for the suspected gunman, who is wanted for the murder of Mr O’Neill and the attempted murder of two other customers.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire police said yesterday they have been asked to provide the Spanish authorities with information on the suspect, who has a history of violent crime and has been on the run from British police since being charged in connection with robbery and conspiracy to kidnap in 2006.
The suspect was sentenced to five years in jail for grievous bodily harm in 1995, after stabbing a man who was lying on the ground nine times in the back.
His other offences include assaulting a police officer, causing severe head injuries, dangerous driving and assaulting a police informer.
The suspect is thought to have been hiding out on the Costa del Sol since 2006.