A gunman has opened fire in a crowded Spanish nightclub and injured four people. It is understood the incident happened at the Opium nightclub in Marbella on the Costa del Sol in the early hours of Monday.
Spanish media reports the lone gunman has been detained and is one of those injured, suffering from stab wounds after a fight broke out shortly after 1am. The fight is believed to have occurred between two groups in a VIP area of the beach club, the Mirror reports.
A resident in the local area told El Confidencial they heard four gunshots. He said: "I looked out because I knew that these were not fireworks like the ones that had been launched on other nights. I saw many people running and leaving the premises so I called the police."
A source at Malaga’s National Police said on Monday morning: “One of the people who suffered gunshot wounds is in a serious condition but we have not been informed of any deaths at this stage.”
Police have not yet confirmed the nationalities of those hurt. Police were quickly on the scene and it has been reported that there were 18 police cars and at least three ambulances.
Footage shared online appears to show commotion inside the nightclub as gunfire is heard. People then frantically try to escape the nightclub, causing a stampede on the dance floor as partygoers are heard screaming.
A British ex-pat who was among the revellers was quoted in the Mirror saying: “There was an initial problem in the VIP area which the bouncers sorted and led to one person being taken away. The shooting occurred during a second incident about ten minutes later."
They added: “They were swinging around those massive bottles of Belvedere Vodka and the bouncers charged back to try to sort it out and that’s when the shooting started.
“I was with my husband and he just flung himself on top of me because at one point the gunman seemed to be shooting out into the crowd.
“There was real mad panic and everyone just rang for the exits. It was all very confusing.”
