'Gunfight broke out on our TUI holiday - we hid from bullets under sunloungers'
When Colin Nulty and his family spent £8,000 on a dream holiday to Mexico, they had visions of relaxing by the pool with a cocktail in hand.
Instead, they were forced to run for their lives after a gunfight broke out around the pool at the luxury hotel. He and his wife hid shaking under a sun lounger while his 14-year-old daughter barricaded herself in her room.
Colin, from Bolton, flew to the Riu Palace Costa Mujeres with Tui last April and said admitted he noticed "sketchy" characters lurking near the complex, with some offering drugs and vapes.
Their 14-year-old had just popped upstairs, leaving the couple lounging poolside, when gunfire rang out just metres away. As panic broke out, terrified Colin texted his daughter, instructing her to remain in their room and bolt the door.
He told The Mirror:"We were sunbathing by the side of the pool and positioned right next to the Tequila Bar, near to where they serve the drinks, as that was our usual spot.
"Our daughter had just left us to go upstairs. My wife and I decided to go for a cigarette at our usual spot down the ramp to the beach. Gunfire erupted and my wife and I instinctively ran back to our sun lounger and hid behind while crouching on the floor.
"My wife was crying, and people were running everywhere trying to hide behind something. I messaged my daughter whilst hiding, telling her to stay in the room, stay quiet, and lock the door as there is a shooting going on."
With a 25-year tenure in the fire service, as soon as a pause in the gunfire came, brave Colin left his hiding place to see if anyone could be helped.
"I have advanced trauma care skills," he explained. "I assessed the scene and told my wife I was going to see who had been shot and if I could help them. No shots had been heard for a while, so I deemed this a suitable risk if it saved a life. I approached the bar, scanning for gunmen, and I could see the man on the floor was displaying what we term in the services as "injuries incompatible with life." He was already past help.
"It is at this moment that a man with a gun came out of the male toilet door, and he was very agitated but in control and scanning for threats. In hindsight, he seemed trained and held his weapon in a controlled manner. He shouted at me to go away and also shouted at a group of American teenagers who were filming the events unfolding on their mobiles.
"I realised this was very much still an active situation and ran back to my wife and moved her from behind the sunbed to down the embankment, which provided more protection. We stayed down until one of the pool workers told everyone to leave the pool and clear the area.
"We decided to go to our room ASAP, and to do this, we had to pass within eye line of the dead man, and my wife was shocked and horrified at what she saw. When we returned to our room, our daughter was terrified, and she thought someone was attacking tourists. She was visibly shaking, and it took a lot of reassurance to convince her that everything was ok and she was safe."
After the distressing incident, the family desperately wanted to leave the hotel and were given three alternative places by TUI to select from that very evening, while they awaited their transfer the following morning.
Colin said the family "didn't even feel safe enough to leave the room for a meal", so they ordered a pizza to their room. Horror struck again when en route to the next hotel, Colin stopped off at a shop and told the assistant they were heading to the Princess Hotel.
He was then shown a breaking news alert on her phone, detailing a "large-scale shootout at the gate to the Princess Hotel after a kidnapping attempt." Colin immediately demanded that the driver take them back to the hotel so he could see a TUI representative, and they reluctantly stayed put. However, they flew home the next day after the distressing events.
Summing up the "terrifying" experience, Colin said: "It was horrific and terrifying without a doubt. The fear of thinking you are in the middle of a terrorist attack of some kind is scary indeed. We were unaware until some time after the incident that it was an undercover police operation gone wrong, so, of course, we thought it was terror-related."
The so-called dream holiday has left Colin's wife suffering from PTSD and has hugely altered their "day-to-day life."
The firefighter revealed: "These events had a big impact on my wife's daily life and still do to this day. It has had a massive impact on the dynamics of the home and day-to-day life of going out and walking our dogs. Everything has changed since the holiday.
"My wife has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Severe Emotional Dissociation. She is on the waiting list to receive treatment and counselling."
A spokeswoman for Riu Hotels and Resorts said the shooting was part of an "operation carried out by the Prosecutor's Office targeting a group of drug dealers in the area".
"The individuals involved in the incident were armed when they entered our facilities," she said.
Despite Colin's plea for a holiday refund, TUI has only refunded him eight days of the trip, totalling £3,873.57, and a £1,000 TUI voucher as compensation following another incident.
Colin explains: "We were refunded exactly eight days of the holiday, their reasoning being we had a nice time up until the shooting incident.
"Initially, TUI was responsive to emails and I had many phone conversations with a handler. However, I have never received anything in writing from them acknowledging the incident, or anything saying they are refunding or compensating.
"They have since refused to answer any of my correspondence or comment on this case with any other companies or media offices that have contacted them."
Feeling he has been "left with no choice" Colin has reached out to ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, for advice and then plans to approach the small claims court.
He added: "I only ever asked for a full refund of the holiday, but TUI's refusal has left me no choice other than to go through ABTA and then small claims court. They have made it so hard for us and they do this intentionally hoping I will just stop, but I won't."
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