Irish man shot dead in Majorca in suspected case of mistaken identity

Spanish detectives are looking for a gunman and two accomplices with an all ports alert in place to prevent those responsible from escaping the island

Costa de la Calma holiday resort where the man was shot in a bar next to his wife and children (Google Maps)

An Irish man was shot dead on the Spanish island of Majorca in front of his wife and children in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity.

Irish police have said the victim was not known to them and they are investigating the possibility he was mistaken for a gangster in relation to an ongoing turf war in Dublin.

He was murdered at the Costa de la Calma resort, 15 miles from the Majorcan capital of Palma.

An eyewitness told MailOnline:"There was a large group of them, the man who was shot, his wife, four of their children, and other adults including a male friend and two other women.

"I saw the gunman walk past the shop and heard the shots seconds later before he ran back down the road past the shop towards the beach and a well-known beach bar at the bottom of the road."

Spanish detectives are looking for a gunman and two accomplices with an all ports alert in place to prevent those responsible from escaping the island.

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil police force told reporters:"[On Wednesday] at 9pm a person was…shot in the back, which caused their death. The person who fired the shots escaped."

With a reported death count of 10, the turf war between the Kinahan and Hutch families was started seven months ago when gunmen opened fire with assault rifles during a boxing weigh-in at a Dublin hotel.