Irish man (21) fights for life in Spanish hospital after being shot in head
Two men have been arrested on Spain's Costa Blanca on suspicion of the attempted murder of an Irish national who is fighting for his life in a hospital intensive care unit.
The 21-year-old was shot in the head near to a shopping centre in Orihuela Costa, south of Alicante.
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Detectives revealed on Tuesday they had held two male suspects aged 27 and 45.
They confirmed the victim remains in intensive care in a 'critical condition' nearly a fortnight after the incident.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard, who was unable to confirm the nationalities of the two suspects, said on Tuesday: 'We have arrested two men as the suspected authors of a shooting in which an Irish national aged 21 was seriously injured after receiving a bullet to the head in Orihuela Costa.
The shooting took place in the coastal town of Orihuela, south of Alicante. Photo: AFP via Getty
'The shooting took place on the night of May 13th near a leisure area close to the Zenia Boulevard Shopping Centre.
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'The young man hurt remains in a critical condition in intensive care in hospital.
'Investigators gathered together witness statements, analysed evidence and made inquiries about the victim and his close circle as part of their probe.
'Part of the evidence they collected was a bag with a revolver, ammunition and the victim's telephone.
'The two suspects are a 27-year-old man and another male aged 45. One was held in Orihuela Costa and the other in nearby Pilar de la Horadada.
'Both were arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide. The homes of one of the pair was also searched.'
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The force spokesman added: 'A court in Orihuela has remanded one of the men, considered to be the shooter, in prison, while the other has been released on bail as a suspected accomplice but banned from leaving the country.'
Detectives did not say what they thought the motive behind the crime was.
None of the three men have been named.
The Civil Guard also on Tuesday released video footage and photos of the gun and ammunition they seized as well as images of one of the suspects being taken into custody in handcuffs.
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