Brit dad, 50, shot dead and son, 28, injured after ambush by motorcycle robbers outside five-star hotel in Argentina
A BRIT holidaymaker was fatally shot in the chest, and his son seriously injured in a horrific ambush moments after landing in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Cops believe the dad, 50, and his stepson, 28, had been followed from the airport to their five-star hotel, where they were attacked by gun-wielding motorcycle robbers.
The pair have been named in local media, El Sol, as Matthew Charles Gibrand, 50, and Stefan Joshua Zone, 28.
The holidaymakers had just arrived at the exclusive Hotel Faena in the Puerto Madero district of the capital when they were ambushed by two bandits on a motorcycle, who tried to rob them as they got out of a taxi at 11am yesterday.
Police said the robbers, who had been circling the area, also had a support vehicle nearby.
The National Prefecture, in charge of the investigation, have asked local cops and the Airport Security Police for details of the exact route the holidaymakers made.
Investigators believe the robbers had “marked” the family upon arrival at the international airport and that they followed their vehicle to launch a surprise attack as soon as they got out.
CCTV footage published by Argentina’s Perfil newspaper shows the pair fighting with the robbers on the street until one pulls out a gun and shoots one of the men, who falls to the ground.
The other man tries to intervene and he too is shot, before the assailants flee the scene. Witnesses said at least five shots were fired.
The 50-year-old was shot in the armpit and suffered a haemorrhage after the bullet entered his chest. He died of his wounds shortly after arriving at hospital.
His stepson received a bullet to his left leg which missed his femoral artery and is reportedly in a serious condition.
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Three ambulances arrived within minutes which took both to the local Argerich hospital.
Police are still trying to track down the robbers.
One witness, named as Florencia, said he arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
“I was walking the dog, I see that there were many people in the corner of the Faena [Hotel],” he said.
The Faena Art Hotel is a luxury hotel in the affluent Puerto Madero neighbourhood of the Argentinian capital.
A spokesman said: “We express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”
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A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are supporting the family of two British men following an incident in Buenos Aires, and are in contact with the local authorities there.”
More than 111,000 British nationals visited Argentina in 2018, according to the Foreign Office, which said most visits are “trouble-free”.
But tourists are warned to be alert to street crime, including armed robberies, and advised to hand over cash and valuables without resistance.
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