A 32 year old Frenchman who shot a 68 year old Icelandic woman in Mojácar last night has been arrested.
The woman was sitting in a chiringuito on Mojácar Playa when the Frenchman let off the weapon in a local he owned next door. The bullet went straight through the wall and hit the woman in the chest.
It is not known why R.H.J.A., who owns an “entertainment business” in Mojácar according to police, let off the weapon, but it is understood to have been a coincidence it hit anyone.
The shot was let off at 20:45, and Guardia Civil and Local Police units rushed to the scene. The woman was taken to hospital where her condition was described as stable.
The shooter was arrested at 00:30 hours by the Guardia Civil and charged with one count of injury by firearm. He will shortly be arraigned before magistrates in Vera.
Update:
A statement was released by the family of the shooter on their Facebook page. It read:
In order to set the record straight about the incident at the Joe Beach on Sunday night and avoid anymore false rumours , rumours which left me alone with my daughters for 24 hours in a state of deep sadness, disbelief, misunderstanding and distress not knowing the full facts , we would like to explain things as they unfolded at the time.
After closing time, my husband was looking and manipulating an old 1914 oxidized gun found in boxes recently inherited from his late grandfather. Completely unaware that it could be loaded, he was the first both shocked and surprised when it fired accidentally and certainly not willingly. The two shots went towards the wall parting the two restaurants and, against all odds, went through slightly injuring , thanks god not seriously, someone sitting on the other side We are so very sorry and we are offering our most heartfelt apologies to both the person, her family and all present for this involuntary but nevertheless careless act . Be assured that this was neither the action of someone going crazy nor an action carried out intentionally as we heard very sadly. We have two daughters aged two years old and only five days; they make our lives both complete and happy and we would never compromise this.
We would like to thank all of you who offered and are still offering us their support . Thank you so much for your kind messages and , once again, we are so very sorry.