POLICE HUNT GUNMEN AFTER IBIZA SHOOTING

As murder squad detectives from Palma arrived in Ibiza to help with the investigation, forces across the country were put on full alert as the hunt for at least two armed “and potentially dangerous” men continued.

Another man and a woman are also wanted in connection with the killing.
40 -year-old José Miguel López Casado, a car dealer with business interests in Madrid and Malaga along with a number of properties in Ibiza, was dining with his brother and a woman when two masked men walked into the restaurant in San Jose, a village in the centre of the island, and shot Lopez Casado three times at close range.

One bullet went into his chest, the other two, his face. The woman was also slightly injured.
Lopez Casado died after collapsing just outside the restaurant while his brother, covered in blood, chased off after the two gunmen as they ran to their getaway car.

Police said that the two gunmen fired on the brother as he ran up the street. They found 15 spent cartridges in the street, but fortunately the brother was not injured.

A doctor, who happened to be near the restaurant when he heard the shots, rushed to the scene but there was nothing he or the para-medics could do to save Lopez Casado's life.

Police believe that the man and woman they are also hunting were waiting in the getaway vehicle, a grey Seat Toledo.
All of the island's local police forces are involved in the hunt. Police in Madrid are checking the victim's business interests in the search for any possible enemies or motive for the killing.

Police sources have suggested that the shooting could have been either carried out or ordered by someone wishing to get even with the victim.
The 40-year-old has a criminal record for minor drug offences and other petty crimes.
He was once investigated and arrested during a major police probe into hashish trafficking.
Police have been able to confirm that the two weapons used in the killing were a 6/35 and a 9 millimetre pistol.
Police sources have admitted that the killers may well have left the island. They would have had to act fast in the early hours of Sunday morning because within hours the Guardia Civil and National Police had mounted road blocks and checks at the airport and ports.

Nevertheless, central government delegate to Ibiza, José Manuel Bar, has admitted that it is possible the killers have escaped off the island. This explains why national police are involved in the hunt.

He too said that the killing may well have been some kind of settling of scores. But, he has confirmed that the police have some very good leads which they are following. Hence yesterday, judge Juan Carlos Torres ordered a media blackout on the investigation.

On Sunday, members of the victim's family were questioned by police.
Apart from his brother, José Miguel López Casado's wife and mother were also on the island at their holiday home in Cala Garbo.
At least 20 people have been questioned by detectives and statements taken from witnesses in and outside the restaurant at the time of the shooting.
Police have been given four numbers of the Seat Toledo's registration plate. But despite having stopped and searched a number of vehicles matching the description, they admit the number plate could well have been a false one.