Shooting in Isla Cristina leaves three dead in escalation of Huelva family feud

Attack in Isla Cristina

Two hooded attackers riding a motorcycle opened fire on Sunday evening around 22:00 in the El Rocío neighbourhood of Isla Cristina, killing three people and wounding two others. The victims killed in the burst of gunfire were a 62-year-old woman, her 39-year-old daughter who was eight months pregnant (the unborn child also died), and a 16-year-old boy named Hugo. The deceased women were the mother and sister of Manuel Salazar, known as 'El Baba', while the 16-year-old had no familial ties to the feud. The attack also left the 18-year-old son of the pregnant woman with serious injuries and wounded another bystander in the leg.

After the shooting, the perpetrators fled to a pine grove near a local campsite and set their motorcycle on fire to eliminate forensic evidence, igniting a small blaze that firefighters quickly controlled. Investigators located the burnt frame of an AK-47 assault rifle chambered in 7.62 calibre alongside the charred vehicle. The case was placed under judicial secrecy by the Juzgado de Instrucción Número 3 of Huelva as forensic specialists began examining the recovered weapon.

Feud between Moriña and Salazar families

Police and Guardia Civil investigators treat the attack as a retaliatory strike stemming from a conflict between two families involved in local drug distribution. The dispute began on 10 September 2024 in the El Torrejón neighbourhood of Huelva, where Manuel Salazar fatally shot Ramón Moriña in the chest and wounded his brother Luis Moriña behind the ear following a romantic breakup with Ramón's sister. Manuel Salazar was later arrested in Gijón and held in provisional detention pending trial in Huelva.

Tensions escalated further throughout 2025. In May 2025, the Guardia Civil arrested three armed relatives of Manuel Salazar on rooftops in Isla Cristina, seizing two shotguns, a pistol, ammunition, and over 58,000 euros in cash. In June 2025, gunmen shot and killed Manuel Salazar's father at a residence on Calle Huerto de la Potala in Isla Cristina, while seriously wounding his daughter in the same incident.

Investigation and manhunt

Law enforcement agencies expanded the search for the two shooters across the provinces of Huelva and Seville, as well as into neighbouring Portugal. The National Police deployed a helicopter to patrol Isla Cristina and established road checkpoints across the municipality, while reinforcing officers in the Huelva neighbourhoods of El Torrejón and Pérez Cubillas where family members reside.

Andalusia anti-drug prosecutor Ana Villagómez commented on the armaments and operational methods of regional trafficking networks during an interview on Cadena SER.

They have weapons of war, assault rifles.

In an appearance on the television show Vamos a ver, Luis Moriña rejected assertions that his relatives operated as a criminal organisation.

Do not speak of a clan. We are not a clan, we are families. We Moriñas are five siblings and we have nothing to do with this.

Security debate along the Huelva coast

The shooting prompted political friction between regional and national authorities over law enforcement resources in south-western Spain. Regional officials in Andalusia criticized the central government for insufficient policing in coastal areas where trafficking routes have shifted toward cocaine distribution. The central government defended its allocations, noting that it has directed more than 190 million euros to the Special Plan against Drug Trafficking in Andalusia across six provinces since 2018, including 38.2 million euros budgeted for 2026.