A major Spanish city has been rocked by a daylight shooting after a gunman opened fire on an innocent man enjoying a morning coffee while screaming, “Speak Spanish!” Panic erupted in Alicante, on the popular Costa Blanca, when a North African man was targeted in broad daylight outside a local bar. The victim had several bullets fired in his direction and at his parked van after being subjected to a torrent of vile racist abuse. Though none of the bullets struck the victim, several penetrated his vehicle.
Armed officers from the Policía Nacional launched an urgent manhunt after the victim, a Moroccan man, reported that a thug had hurled slurs – including branding him “Moorish s***,” before discharging the firearm. Detectives quickly tracked a suspicious vehicle to a nearby petrol station. When patrol cars moved in, the occupants attempted a desperate getaway but were swiftly intercepted and boxed in by officers.
A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered a firearm loaded with two live cartridges. The main suspect, who faces charges of attempted murder, illegal weapons possession, causing damage and a hate crime, was arrested alongside an associate.
Armed raids were later executed across three linked properties, blowing the case wide open into a major narcotics operation. Officers seized 3.7kg of marijuana, hashish, precision scales, €300 (£251) in cash, two bulletproof vests and a deadly samurai katana sword.
Four suspects – three Spanish nationals and one Moroccan national, aged between 19 and 44 – have been detained. Two are facing additional drug trafficking charges as the investigation continues.
According to recent data, foreign nationals in Spain total roughly 7.2 million (14.8% of the population), while foreign-born residents exceed 10 million. Major groups come from across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco, as well as from Colombia, Venezuela and Romania. Latin American countries make up nearly half of the immigrant population.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s left-wing administration launched a major regularisation program in April, allowing undocumented migrants living in Spain to apply for a one-year residency and work permit. Over one million applications were submitted before the window closed.
In late July, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta following a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court on border returns. Thousands were subsequently returned or deported to Morocco, drawing political friction from EU neighbours, including Italy and Denmark, as well as criticism from human rights groups like Amnesty International over recent deportations in October.
