A bitter bar brawl in the notorious Oura district of Albufeira has left two men dead and another seriously injured.
The violent outburst on Tuesday night came days after robbers mounted a concerted attack – for the second time – on the town’s Liberto’s Disco Bar.
As in 2011 – when a vicious gang left Liberto’s owner fighting for his life – this week’s robbery targeted the bar’s manager as he came home from a busy night.
A three-man gang pistol-whipped him to the ground and then tied him up inside his apartment.
According to news reports, the group then set about stealing a collection of watches and other IT items and cash, before forcing the man’s keys and key codes from him – with the intention of returning to the bar and breaking open its safe.
What they didn’t bargain for was their victim’s tenacity under fire.
Correio da Manhã describes how the man wriggled free of his bonds and sounded the alarm.
Within minutes, a GNR squad was heading to the bar where all three men were still busy. Two tried to make their escape in a car, but were stopped and are now in police custody. The third managed to evade arrest and was still on the run as we went to press.
Days later, the town known for its volatile night scene was rocked by the news that two men were dead and another seriously injured after violence broke out in a bar.
According to CM, one of the dead men was a bouncer at the bar, while the other was the “supposed aggressor”, a man in his 40s.
A source from the GNR, speaking to Lusa news agency, confirmed the incident took place just before 3am when an argument broke out between a waiter and a group of Portuguese customers from Lisbon and the bouncer had to intervene.
A third man, believed to be the owner of the bar, is reported to be seriously injured in hospital.
On Wednesday morning PJ police were still investigating the incident, while in the case of the Liberto’s attack, the two men in custody – both said to be Brazilians – will now be appearing in court.
One is believed to be a former employee at the bar, while the other was still working there.
This latest attack appears not to be related to any others this season in Albufeira – unlike the incident that left Liberto’s owner Liberto Mealha in a critical condition in 2011. At the time, the town was ‘under attack’ by a vicious gang that specifically went after nightclub owners.
