Night of panic and shots in the street of Cap Salou, in front of a tourist apartment building. Three hooded individuals stopped their car, on a public road, and without saying a word shot at two men sitting inside another vehicle with a long weapon. Some witnesses speak of thirty shots. One of the victims died instantly and the other a few hours after being taken to the hospital.
The noise of the bursts of shots sowed fear in the area of the Plaza de Les Palmeres. There are majority of second homes and tourist accommodation. Some thought they were “firecrackers”. At least three of the cars parked on the same street were hit by bullets. Tourists who heard the shooting from their apartments and hotel rooms said they heard screams of fear from witnesses, who were surprised by the events in the street, around 10:30 p.m.
After the shooting, the three members of the group, who knew well what their objective was, got into the car and began a hasty escape. First through the streets of Salou and then along the highway that connects the coastal town with the AP-7. Once on the motorway, full throttle heading north towards Barcelona. A Mossos d'Esquadra patrol intercepted the car, with a French license plate, in the Mèdol service area, on the AP-7 itself, at around 11 p.m.
One of the three members of the criminal group was able to be detained by the agents when he tried to flee on foot. This is a 24-year-old individual of French nationality. His two companions also left the vehicle but they did manage to escape. In his car, the Mossos located two long weapons, a hand grenade and another short weapon.
Catalan police suspect that the gunmen originally intended to flee in the direction of the French border. When their main escape route was frustrated, the whereabouts and intentions of the couple who managed to outwit the Mossos were unknown yesterday afternoon.
The researchers' main hypothesis is a settling of scores between rival gangs specializing in drug trafficking. It is also investigated, due to the use of long weapons by the homicidal group and the discovery of the hand grenade, whether there are connections with organized crime.
In May 2022, three men shot another 20-year-old Frenchman in the center of Salou. The Mossos could not stop them until a year later. The motive for the crime, a revenge between criminal groups in Lyon.
Investigating Court No. 6 of Tarragona has taken over the investigation for a double crime of murder. In addition to inspecting the scene of the shooting, the agents searched the two rooms where the two victims were staying, which indicates that they were only passing through Salou, like the group of three murderers.
