Police are “closing in on” the suspected killer of Lucas Leote, a 19-year-old with a “love of music and gastronomy” who died after being shot in the neck last Friday at the entrance of the Lick nightclub in Vilamoura where he worked.
Correio da Manhã reports that PJ police have already interrogated the girlfriend and family members of António Tavares, the 19-year-old prime suspect of the shooting.
The shooting happened in the early hours of Friday morning after António Tavares was allegedly prevented from entering the nightclub, apparently because security staff was “suspicious” of his attitude.
He is said to have returned shortly after with a gun and fired several shots at the entrance of the nightclub, one of which hit Lucas in the neck. At the time, the young man was tying bracelets on the wrists of clients who were entering the nightclub. Lucas was rushed to Faro Hospital where he died shortly after.
The alleged shooter escaped on a motorbike which was later found by authorities, who believe someone helped him escape. Police also suspect that António Tavares may have crossed the border into Spain and have already “requested the collaboration of Spanish authorities”.
CM adds that authorities are also worried about the death threats that are being made against the suspect.
Mário Machado, the leader of the extreme right-wing movement Nova Ordem Social, has used Facebook to ask anyone who knows the suspect’s whereabouts to contact the group first before going to the authorities.
Meantime, Lick has posted a photo on its Facebook page showing the nightclub’s staff all standing under a banner reading ‘Somos Todos Lucas’ (We Are All Lucas), which was accompanied by the announcement that the nightclub closed on Saturday in honour of Lucas.
Lucas has been described as a young man who had “many ambitions and talents”.
He was attending a cooking course, played the piano and was a trombonist for the Banda Filarmónica de Paderne in Albufeira. Surfing and travelling with friends have also been named as some of his other passions.
“He was unlucky, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Albufeira mayor José Carlos Rolo told CM, adding that the life of a young man was lost in a “crime in which he had no apparent responsibility”.
michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
Photo: Lucas Leote has been described as a young man who had many ambitions and talents
