Man shot dead in Tarragona hospital room after earlier attack

A man was shot dead in his room at Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona in the early hours of Wednesday after a gunman entered the building and opened fire, according to Catalan media reports and police sources.

The victim had been admitted after an earlier shooting in Salou on 16 October, when he was hit multiple times. Local reports identified him as Mekin Büyükdeniz, a Turkish man described as the alleged leader of a criminal group known as the “10 brothers”, although that claim has not been independently confirmed by police in the material reviewed.

Mossos d’Esquadra and Tarragona’s Guardia Urbana rushed to the hospital after the alarm was raised shortly after 2.15am. By the time officers arrived, medical staff were already trying to save the man, but he died from his injuries.

Investigators believe the shooter arrived on an electric scooter and left it near the hospital before going up to the room. Witness accounts published by local outlets say the attacker wore a motorcycle helmet to make identification harder and that the victim was in the room with his wife at the time of the attack.

The Catalan police later activated a perimeter search, known locally as a “cage” operation, to try to locate those involved. There were no immediate arrests reported by the time of publication.

The case has revived scrutiny of the decision to withdraw police protection from the victim days earlier, after Mossos reportedly judged that the risk to him had fallen. He had been guarded in hospital after the Salou shooting but was no longer under custody when he was killed.

According to reports citing the original investigation, the 16 October attack in Salou left him with 10 gunshot wounds. Police have not publicly detailed in the material reviewed whether the hospital killing is directly linked to that earlier ambush, but investigators are treating it as a targeted attack.

The homicide unit for the Camp de Tarragona region has taken charge of the inquiry.

Police probe possible gang link

The victim’s reported links to a Turkish criminal network are now likely to form a key part of the investigation, alongside the method of entry into the hospital and the rapid escape from the scene.

Joan XXIII is one of the region’s main public hospitals and the killing is likely to prompt questions over hospital security, especially in cases involving people under threat from organised crime.

Police have not confirmed a motive or named any suspects, and the search remains ongoing.