A 33-year-old Ukrainian man was shot dead this past Tuesday afternoon in the underground parking area of a residential complex in La Cala, La Vila Joiosa. The two assailants were already in the parking area when the victim arrived and fled in a white car after the attack. A neighbor entering the garage initially thought a traffic collision had occurred as he saw someone drop to the ground right after the vehicle passed him.
The Civil Guard is working tirelessly to identify and arrest the two perpetrators and is reviewing nearby surveillance footage to extract any lead that could locate them. Investigators have been speaking with a man from an Eastern country who arrived at the scene and indicated he knew the victim; the two had been working on a home renovation project. At this stage, authorities confirm the deceased had no known criminal history in Spain, and the motive behind the crime remains unclear.
Video recordings from the urbanization are being collected and studied to glean possible clues about the assailants’ movements and to corroborate timelines of the events. An autopsy conducted at the Alicante Institute of Legal Medicine revealed that the man received six gunshots, most of them to the chest, and investigators believe he attempted to flee while the attackers continued firing until he collapsed near the garage exit ramp.
A car believed to be used by the killers appeared shortly after, found completely burned out in El Campello. The vehicle was in a state that prevented immediate forensic analysis, and authorities suspect it was stolen.
Residents have begun to process the shock, with mixed emotions across the five buildings that constitute the residential complex. Some neighbors only learned of the event on Wednesday morning, which has sparked both disbelief and fear. One resident explained, “People have been asking what happened and whether the man lived in the building.” Another added, “There are people who feel scared. They don’t know who the victim was, nor who could have done this or why. It is all very strange.”
Despite the disruption, life within the La Cala complex resumed a semblance of normalcy on Wednesday. Some residents entered and exited their homes but declined to comment on the incident. A quiet hush has settled over the parking area since the attack.
The complex is large and hosts a diverse mix of residents, including many foreign nationals from Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. A substantial portion of residents work outside the locale, which can make it difficult for neighbors to know everyone personally. In fact, most people did not know whether the victim lived in one of the units on site.
There is a palpable sense of calm in the surrounding area, with no visible civil guard tape lingering around the garage nearly a day after the incident. Residents hope for a return to normal life as soon as possible and look to authorities for clarity and reassurance about the future safety of the community.