Steven Gray, 32, was fatally shot outside a football pitch in Calahonda, Spain. Two people got out of a car and shots were heard, a witness said
Emma O’Neill Content Editor and Patrick Edrich
16:42, 23 Dec 2025Updated 16:42, 23 Dec 2025
Steven Gray, who was shot dead in Calahonda, Spain on Easter Monday(Image: Gray family)
Two firearms were discovered in a burnt-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, 21st April, outside a well-known sports facility in the popular British holiday destination of Calahonda in Spain.
Mr Gray, who hailed from Bootle, had been residing in Malaga for approximately a year when he was killed near the Club del Sol and Finca Naundrup sports complex 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 skilled midfielder. His family shared with the court that he had been scouted by the Everton academy at the tender age of four, playing at a high level until a leg injury.
Ms Gray revealed her son’s “secret idol” was Steven Gerrard, with his style of play often compared to the former Reds captain.
During the inquest, the mother stated: “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, saying: “We are not here to judge anybody.”
A post-mortem examination conducted in Spain determined Mr Gray’s cause of death as severe haemorrhaging due to 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 noted: “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 informed Spanish newspapers that they heard “eight to 10 shots” at the time of Mr Gray’s killing. The Sur newspaper reported that a Seat Cupra bearing foreign registration plates was discovered ablaze not far from where the incident took place.
The same publication stated that authorities were hunting for “two hooded killers”.
The Guardia Civil is leading the investigation into Mr Gray’s death. The ECHO has contacted the police force on multiple occasions seeking information, however a spokesperson explained that details cannot be disclosed to the media whilst an investigation remains active.
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 represented one of at least eight firearms incidents across the Costa del Sol within a two-month period. These included the fatal shootings of Scottish gangsters Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan in Fuengirola on May 31.
Michael Terrence Riley, 44, has been extradited from Liverpool to face trial charged with their murders.
