AN INNOCENT cyclist has been shot dead by a stray bullet as a terrifying wave of gun violence grips Spain’s Costa holiday hotspots.
The 53-year-old man was caught in the crossfire of a violent altercation in La Linea, a short drive from the popular British resort of Estepona.
The victim, identified only as Alonso S.C., was reportedly cycling through a residential neighbourhood when he was struck by a bullet.
Police believe he was shot by accident and have confirmed he had no criminal record.
One local described Alonso as a “good man”, while an unconfirmed report suggested he may have been trying to break up a street fight when he was killed.
The horror shooting unfolded in the early hours of yesterday morning, with police launching an investigation.
No arrests have yet been made.
It comes as cops investigate another suspected murder after a man’s decomposing body was discovered floating in the sea with a gunshot wound to his head.
The unidentified victim, described as a white male, was found near the secluded Zacatin Cove on Spain’s Costa Tropical in Granada province.
The beauty spot, west of Castell de Ferro, is popular with divers, kayakers and nature enthusiasts.
Police confirmed the man had both an entry and exit wound to his head.
Detectives are treating the death as a probable murder but have not ruled out other possibilities.
They have yet to establish how long the body had been in the water, and no weapon has been reported found.
The grim discovery follows two separate murders in just three days in Almeria, around an hour’s drive east along the coast.
The first victim, recycling plant worker Antonio Santiago, was gunned down in the early hours of Wednesday as he headed to his car after finishing a night shift.
Antonio was the brother of Juana Santiago, who was recently released from prison after serving a 23-year sentence for the March 2002 murder of a seven-year-old girl.
Another man was shot dead on Friday morning in a suspected drugs-related killing.
The fatal bullet severed his aorta, with one of the two suspected gunmen already arrested.
Hours later, around 6pm, another man was gunned down at a tattoo parlour in Badalona, near Barcelona.
Police are hunting two suspects believed to be Colombian nationals.
The latest bloodshed comes as detectives continue investigating the assassination of UK-trained plastic surgeon Alexander Aslani in Marbella.
The 57-year-old father-of-two was shot dead in front of horrified customers at his Cirumed Clinic on October 7.
An 18-year-old Swedish national suspected of fleeing the scene on a Yamaha maxi-scooter was arrested the following day and remanded in custody.
But investigators believe he may have been a hired hitman and are now examining the surgeon’s patient files to identify who could have ordered the killing.
Police are understood to be focusing on a potentially disgruntled former patient following reports of threats against the surgeon.
Last weekend, it emerged that a woman who allegedly threatened Mr Aslani after he refused to refund her Brazilian butt lift had left Spain.
The woman, described locally as being of “Arabic origin”, reportedly demanded her money back after becoming unhappy with the results of her surgery.
Her husband is also said to have visited the clinic before the killing to “issue warnings to staff”.
Mr Aslani, whose celebrity clients included former Towie star Chloe Sims and Big Brother contestant Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, had complained to police in April about receiving “work-related” threats.
It remains unclear whether he named any suspects in his statement.
Amid the mounting violence, police are also investigating a terrifying attempted kidnapping in an upmarket Marbella neighbourhood.
A 25-year-old man narrowly escaped after four masked men allegedly tried to abduct him at gunpoint in Alto de los Monteros.
The hillside residential area lies around three miles north-east of the clinic where Mr Aslani was murdered.
The victim told police that three attackers armed with a pistol and iron bars tried to force him out of his car and into another vehicle during the early-hours ambush.
But he managed to escape by reacting quickly and speeding away before they could seize him.
His nationality has not been made public, and police are continuing to investigate the attempted abduction.
The Spanish government has responded to growing fears over gang violence by announcing additional police reinforcements for Malaga.
Officials have also sought to reassure holidaymakers, insisting tourists visiting the popular British destination can have “complete peace of mind”.
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