A few minutes before eleven on a Wednesday night, Osman and his wife with their two young children sat in a white Citroën parked beside the apartment complex Salou 4 You. Inside the car were two men, one pale and the other a bit darker skinned, positioned in the front and rear seats respectively. Like many residents of Cap de Salou, a promontory where hotels line the shore, Osman noticed the plate showed French registration. He stepped from the vehicle and climbed the stairs to his building as gunfire erupted.
He speaks in a state of visible shock the following day, recounting that he and his family ran toward the lobby for shelter. He says the attackers used two automatic weapons. He did not turn to look at the shooters. When Mossos d’Esquadra confirmed his suspicions, it was clear that the victims were in a Citroën: one person lay dead inside the car, the other, seated in the back, managed to crawl a short distance before dying. Some witnesses speculate that a second explosion may have occurred in connection with the second victim.
French citizen Eric showed a photo of his car being taken away, a scene he described as shocking.
A witness told Mossos investigators that three hooded figures approached the victims and opened fire. Another unnamed woman, who watched from her balcony while dining with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren, described hearing the assault and seeing several men rummaging through a car after the shots rang out.
rain of bullets
Two assailants fired relentlessly; one died at the scene while the other survived long enough to be transported to Joan XXIII hospital in very serious condition. The shootings threatened others beyond the targeted individuals, with evidence of shots striking three cars and even the outer walls of nearby buildings. The gunmen fired indiscriminately, with casualties potentially including bystanders.
Eric, one of the owners of the affected vehicle, said he also heard two blasts and believed they were machine gun fire. He did not witness the incident firsthand because his room faced away from Plaza de las Palmeras, the end point of the street where the events occurred. A bullet pierced the driver’s window, passed through the passenger window, and lodged in the adjacent car. He and his friends later retrieved the spent bullet that lay in the vehicle.
Cristiano, another vehicle owner of French descent, shared a similar account. He heard the volleys of gunfire but did not see the attackers. Mossos retrieved his keys and temporarily blocked access to his car because a bullet had lodged in the dashboard, a fact documented by forensic officers.
Escape
According to the witness who spoke with investigators, the three gunmen returned to their vehicle after pursuing and killing the second victim who had managed to escape from the car. They drove a Renault Capture away from the scene toward the Mèdol service area on the AP-7, roughly twenty kilometers from Salou. A Mossos patrol encountered them there, and authorities managed to arrest one of the suspects. The other two, if any, escaped on foot, possibly with another vehicle waiting nearby.
Police found two pistols, two long guns, and two grenades inside the Captur. Specialists from the TEDAX unit were called to secure the area and assess potential explosive risks.
The body of the deceased was removed pending court procedures and transported to a regional facility at dawn. The individual in custody will be questioned to guide investigators toward the truth. The search continues for two fugitives who are considered dangerous and armed.
peer
A very similar incident occurred in Salou about a year earlier, on May 9, 2022, at 22:50. Three gunmen killed a 24-year-old man in central Salou. The attackers and victim belonged to rival groups that had traveled from Valencia. The assailants learned that the victim was visiting Salou and drove 640 kilometers in a Renault Clio to stage the attack. Three individuals were later jailed for these facts.
The resemblance between the two incidents suggests a possible link to organized crime. The vehicle used by the killers carried French license plates, and witnesses indicated the victims may have also been of French origin, suggesting a cross-border criminal network operating in the area.