Cuevas Bajas shooting allegedly started with jealousy dispute

Crime

One of the people who were sleeping inside the house the motorcyclist targeted said that she had started receiving threats during the night

María José Díaz Alcalá

The Guardia Civil have discovered more details concerning the shooting targeting a house in the Antequera town of Cuevas Bajas that happened on Sunday morning.

According to the investigation, a dispute over jealousy and a night of harassment by phone led to the incident. The police are currently trying to locate and arrest the rider and the motorbike passenger who fired more than 20 shots at the house, although the victims claim there were 39 shots.

The house inhabitants woke up from the sound of gunshots at around 7am. "We heard a motorcycle and I thought it was the exhaust pipe, but then we realised they were shooting at us," one of the victims said.

The confrontation, however, had begun a few hours earlier when she started receiving threats. The suspect, acting out of jealousy towards a relative of hers, started harassing her over the phone.

"He told me he was going to record me being killed and that he was going to put me in a coffin," she said. Her partner intervened, which further escalated the situation.

The victims also said that the suspected gunmen were involved in another incident in Cuevas de San Marcos, less than ten kilometres from Cuevas Bajas, just hours before the shooting.

"They went there and fired at the house of a nephew," one of them stated. The Local Police confirmed receiving reports of a disturbance in the town, although they found no bullet impacts or spent cartridge cases at the scene.

Meanwhile, the Guardia Civil remained around the family home in Cuevas Bajas following the threats in an effort to prevent further incidents. "They told us to file a complaint and, when they left at around 4am, we went to bed," one of the victims said.

A few hours later, the alleged attackers opened fire on the facade and front door of the main house, which is connected to another dwelling on the ground floor.

According to the victim's account, several bullets struck the walls of a ground-floor bedroom where a relative was sleeping. "It missed him by centimetres because he was lying down," she said. Video footage shows bullet impacts on the front door and facade, while spent cartridge cases were found along the street.

Cuevas Bajas town hall said they have enhanced security measures and Mayor Manuel Lara pledged to do "whatever is necessary to ensure this never happens again". He told SUR that the town hall is preparing a budget amendment worth almost 200,000 euros specifically for additional policing, CCTV surveillance and other security measures.

Lara acknowledged that residents are "worried" and "frightened", but stressed that the municipality remains a safe place and that the shooting was an isolated incident. "What I tell my residents is to stay calm. We are going to do everything possible to restore the normality we have always enjoyed in our town," the mayor said.

He expressed hope that the shooting would ultimately remain "a one-off incident" in the recent history of Cuevas Bajas, while stressing its seriousness.

The mayor also said the town hall would meet with local political groups, including Izquierda Unida, after the party called for greater coordination and explanations regarding planned measures.

Lara said that the response must be collective and carefully considered. "You can't make decisions in the heat of the moment," he said, adding that residents and political groups would be informed once they finalise the security plan.