Richard Keogh, has been shot dead in the Torrequebrada area of Benalmadena

A 35-year-old Irishman, named Richard Keogh, has been shot dead in the Torrequebrada area of Benalmadena.Investigating officers believe it could have been a settling of scores. A relative who was with the victim on the same night has been arrested on separate chargesThe events happened last Saturday night at around 11pm in front of a supermarket in Torrequebrada. Richard Keogh - from Cabra in Dublin - had been drinking coffee with some friends (including a South American man suspected to be a drug dealer) and a relative at an Irish bar. When he left to return home, a car believed to have three people inside, pulled up and at least one occupant opened fire. Keogh was shot a couple of times and attempted to escape before he fell injured and the killer fired more rounds into his body from close range, one of which struck him in the face.Shocked onlookers alerted the emergency services, although at first they thought the loud noises had been caused by fireworks. Officers from the Local and National Police hurried to the scene and found the 30-year-old Irishman lying in a pool of blood on the floor. The paramedics, who arrived just moments later, could not save his life. The police found eight bullet casings at the crime scene and interviewed witnesses. One of them said he saw a white Honda Civic leaving the crime scene. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned near a school in Torrequebrada; the keys were still in the ignition and the radio was on. Smoke was coming from one of the seats, indicating that the culprits had attempted to set the car on fire to suppress evidence. Officers found some gloves and a spent magazine from a handgun in the car.

The police say that the motive for the shooting looks like a settling of scores. But it is still unclear if Keogh was shot as part of a dispute with drug dealers based on the Costa del Sol, or if he was targeted by an Irish drugs gang with whom he was in dispute before he left Ireland with his wife and children just over a year ago. In November, 2007, Keogh was putting his rubbish out for collection when a gunman fired at least five shots at him as his wife and two-year-old son looked on. He was wounded in the shoulder and arm but managed to run back into the safety of his home. Keogh is said to have been a significant player in the drugs trade in Benalmadena. The relative who was with him the night of the shooting has been arrested as he is wanted in Ireland.

Government subdelegate to Malaga Hilario Lopez said that this kind of reprisal happens among criminals but citizens should not be worried because they are isolated incidents.