Two men gunned down at a popular Irish bar on Spain’s Costa del Sol have been identified as gangsters from Scotland, according to multiple reports.
The deadly shooting took place at Monaghans Fuengirola, a seafront venue in the holiday hotspot, while tourists and expats were enjoying drinks after the Champions League final.
A masked gunman is believed to have entered the bar and opened fire, killing both victims at close range before fleeing in a waiting vehicle.
Some reports have suggested there may have been two shooters involved, but this has not yet been officially confirmed by Spanish authorities.
While early police reports indicated the victims were Irish nationals, Spain’s National Police later confirmed that both men were from Scotland.
According to the Daily Record, the victims were Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr, described as prominent members of the Glasgow-based Lyons crime clan.
Monaghan is also reported to be the owner of Monaghan’s bar, where the shooting took place.
Local government official Javier Salas confirmed that one of the victims was shot in the chest, while the other suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.
It is understood that both men were targeted near the entrance of the bar, shortly after a vehicle pulled up outside, and one of the assailants got out.
After the shooting, the gunman escaped in the same car, which was being driven by an accomplice.
One of the victims was aged 41, police sources said. The age of the second victim has not yet been officially disclosed.
A spokesperson for Spain’s National Police in Malaga said: “Around midnight, an incident with firearms occurred in Fuengirola, specifically at an entertainment venue along the seafront.”
“Two males died as a result of gunshot wounds. The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made so far,” the spokesperson added.
Photographs taken at the scene shortly after the incident show one of the men lying on his back in a T-shirt and shorts near an outdoor menu board.
Other images show police officers and paramedics surrounding one of the bodies, which was later covered by a blanket, as stunned holidaymakers watched from nearby tables.
At this stage, there have been no arrests, although police quickly established roadblocks in an attempt to intercept those responsible.
Unconfirmed local reports suggest the execution-style attack bears the hallmarks of a gangland killing, based on how it was carried out.
This latest shooting follows a similar incident in Calahonda, just six weeks earlier, in which a British man was killed in what investigators believe was a professional hit.
The 32-year-old victim had just finished playing football with friends when he was ambushed and shot dead near his car on the evening of April 21.
His killers escaped in a getaway car, which was later found burned out. No arrests have yet been made in connection with that case.
The victim, who has not been named, was known to be from Liverpool. Police are treating his death as a gang-related killing linked to the drug trade.
At the time, local media reported that his death was the fourth shooting on the Costa del Sol in April alone, amid growing violence between rival criminal groups.
Just four days before the Calahonda killing, a 34-year-old man was also hospitalised after being shot outside a nightclub in Marbella, another resort town in the area.
Spain’s National Police say they are investigating this latest shooting in Fuengirola as a top priority.
Monaghans Fuengirola advertises itself online as a “family-friendly sports bar and restaurant located in Torreblanca, Fuengirola, opposite one of the area’s most popular beaches.”
Torreblanca is located east of Fuengirola’s main town centre and remains a popular destination among British tourists visiting the Costa del Sol.
