Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: World News, Crime
Claire Reid
A waiter survived a murder attempt in a Spanish bar after a leg of ham stopped the bullets.
The waiter was working at El Tigre Bar in Madrid, at 1.15pm on Sunday (5 June) when two men entered through the front door.
According to reports, the waiter appeared to immediately recognise the pair and sensed what was about to go off.
The quick-thinking waiter is said to have dropped to the ground and ducked for cover behind the bar, before one of the suspects removed a gun from his backpack and opened fire.
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Fortunately for the waiter, neither of the shots hit him and both men then fled the scene on foot.
One of the two assailants was caught by a couple of parking attendants just 100 metres away from the scene – the unarmed attendants were reportedly alerted to the suspect after the waiter left the bar shouting for police.
The man who was apprehended is just 17 years old and is believed to be the one who fired the gun.
In his rucksack, they found the pistol he had allegedly used to shoot at his intended victim, who is said to be a 32-year-old Spanish national of Dominican origin.
Only one of the suspects was caught, while his accomplice is still at large, prompting a manhunt by national police.
Officers who arrived at the scene said they were able to recover the bullets, which had been lodged into a large cured ham leg – a typical Spanish delicacy – that had been on top of the bar at the time.
Security cameras inside the establishment recorded the events as they unfolded and will be closely examined by the police to help catch the second perpetrator.
A police source told El Pais: "In the images you can see how the waiter recognises them as soon as they enter the door and they were clearly going for him.”
A police spokesperson has said one line of enquiry currently being probed by cops centres on a dispute between rival youth gangs in the city.
The bar involved in the shootout is said to be popular with young people due to its selection of tapas and low prices.
Despite the incident taking place in the afternoon, it was said to be not full at the time.
The names of those involved were withheld, as were the images.
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