Steven Gray, 32, was gunned down outside a football pitch in Calahonda, Spain, having just finished playing a match with friends.
Two firearms were discovered in a burned-out vehicle following the fatal shooting of a “true Blue” outside a Costa del Sol football pitch. Steven Gray, 32, was gunned down on Easter Monday, April 21, outside a popular sports facility in the British holiday hotspot of Calahonda in Spain.
Mr Gray, who hailed from Bootle, had been residing in Malaga for approximately a year before he was killed near the Club del Sol and Finca Naundrup sports complex, just moments after completing a football match. An inquest at Bootle Town Hall heard today, Tuesday: “A witness said at around 7.45pm they saw two people get out of a car and heard shots, reports the Liverpool Echo.
“Death was established between 8pm and 8.30pm. The car used by the shooters had been found burnt-out with two burnt firearms inside. Steven had been walking to his car [when he was shot]. He was found next to his car on the floor.”
Mr Gray’s mother Lynn told the ECHO: “Steven was walking to his car after playing a football match with his friends. As he got to his car, with his back to them, [the] cowards brutally shot him from behind.
“Steven didn’t see it coming and died instantly at the scene. This cruel, cowardly act has left Steven’s family and friends devastated. My son will rest easy knowing how loved he’ll always be.”
She added: “[Steven] went to Spain to get away from gang culture. He had no involvement in gang culture. Steven is from a family who care for him and always have and always will love him very much.”
The inquest was informed that Mr Gray was a devoted Everton supporter and a skilled midfielder. His family revealed during the proceedings that he had been scouted by the Everton academy at the age of four and played at a high level until he suffered a leg break.
Ms Gray shared that her son’s “secret idol” was Steven Gerrard, with his playing style often compared to the former Reds captain.
Ms Gray told the inquest: “When the death is so violent people do judge and make assumptions. They judge the family as well.”
Senior Coroner Anita Bhardwaj reassured Mr Gray’s family, stating: “We are not here to judge anybody.”
A post-mortem examination conducted in Spain determined Mr Gray’s cause of death to be severe haemorrhaging resulting from gunshot wounds to his thorax and abdomen.
The inquest heard that both the coroner’s office and Mr Gray’s family had made numerous attempts to obtain more information about his death from the Spanish authorities. Ms Bhardwaj stated: “What we have is extremely limited because they’re not providing us with any information.”
The coroner concluded: “From all the information known to us there is no lawful reason to shoot Steven, so I find Steven died as a result of unlawful killing.”
Expressing her sympathy to Mr Gray’s mother, Ms Bhardwaj added: “I know we are all conditioned to lose our parents, but we are not conditioned to lose a child before us.”
Locals on the Costa del Sol told Spanish newspapers they heard “eight to 10 shots” at the time Mr Gray was killed. Spanish publication Sur reported that a Seat Cupra bearing foreign registration plates was discovered ablaze not far from where the incident took place.
The same outlet stated that police were hunting “two hooded killers”.
The Guardia Civil is heading up the investigation into Mr Gray’s death. Despite the ECHO making multiple attempts to obtain information from the force, a spokesperson explained they do not disclose details to journalists whilst inquiries are still underway.
A Spanish source previously told the ECHO: “There is a basic problem in the area that the Spanish aren’t that bothered about expat violence until they have to be. Perhaps more prescient [is] that the police authorities in the area are under-resourced.”
Mr Gray’s shooting was among at least eight firearms-related incidents on the Costa del Sol within a two-month period. These also included the fatal shootings of Scottish gangland figures Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan in Fuengirola on May 31.
Michael Terrence Riley, 44, has been brought back from Liverpool to face trial charged with their murders.