A suspected Turkish crime syndicate leader was shot dead inside a hospital room in Tarragona, Spain, during an early-morning attack. Mekin Büyükdeniz had been recovering at Joan XXIII Hospital after surviving a drive-by shooting in Salou, near the coast, on October 16. Catalan police said they are investigating the fatal shooting of an admitted patient, and placed the case under a judicial secrecy order. The killing happened around 3:15 a.m., just 10 minutes after Büyükdeniz was transferred from intensive care to a regular room on the hospital’s fifth floor. A law enforcement source told OCCRP the victim was Büyükdeniz, linked to the Ten Brothers criminal group. The attack was reportedly carefully timed. An accomplice allegedly diverted hospital security by sexually harassing a nurse. A helmeted gunman then entered the emergency room area on an electric scooter, went straight to Büyükdeniz’s room and shot him three times in the head and body in front of his wife. After the shooting, the wife was placed under police protection. The hitman reportedly escaped through the hospital’s garbage collection area. Mossos d'Esquadra moved the case to its Criminal Investigation Division and set up roadblocks across Tarragona and Catalonia to search for the suspects. Emergency services also activated a psychological support team for hospital staff. Büyükdeniz had been moved to a regular room after authorities assessed that the security risk had dropped. His earlier bodyguard arrangements included a private bodyguard brought in from Turkey, after which local police removed his police protection just before the attack, Sabah reported.