Famous plastic surgeon shot dead in his Marbella clinic in Spain

A well-known German plastic surgeon was shot dead inside his clinic in Marbella on Wednesday afternoon in a brazen daytime attack that has shocked the Costa del Sol.

Alexander A., 57, was killed by several gunshots to the head while working at the Cirumed medical centre, located in the Panorama building. The clinic, which he had run for more than a decade with his wife, was busy with staff and patients on a day of scheduled operations when the gunman struck shortly before 6 p.m.

According to witnesses and police sources, a man dressed in black and wearing a motorcycle helmet and a neck gaiter covering his face entered the premises and went straight to the office where the surgeon and his wife were present. He fired several shots at the doctor’s head — at least three detonations were heard from outside — before fleeing. The surgeon’s wife began screaming for help as the attack unfolded.

The assailant had arrived on a Yamaha TMax-type scooter, which he parked on the pavement in front of the clinic. After the shooting he quickly returned to the motorcycle, rode a short distance against the flow of traffic on a service road, and disappeared into a quieter street leading toward the Bello Horizonte residential area, avoiding the busy N-340 road.

Some sources have pointed to the possible involvement of more than one person and noted the “suspicious” presence of a high-end black vehicle near the scene. No arrests have been made so far.

National Police are investigating all possible motives. One line of inquiry under consideration is that the killer may have been a disgruntled former patient, though investigators stress it is still too early to draw conclusions and no hypothesis has been ruled out.

Emergency services were alerted to reports of a shooting. Police and medical teams arrived promptly, but were unable to save the surgeon, who died at the scene. Judicial and forensic teams remained at the clinic until late Wednesday night; the body was removed around 9 p.m.

Staff, patients and the victim’s brother gathered outside the clinic in the aftermath, visibly distressed by the violent attack that took place in broad daylight in one of Marbella’s medical centres.