Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

A waiter survived a murder attempt at a Spanish bar after the bullets were stopped by a leg of ham.

Two assailants reportedly entered the El Tigre bar in the Chueca neighbourhood of the capital Madrid at around 1.15pm on Sunday, 5th June through the front door.

Immediately recognising the pair and sensing the danger, the waiter dropped to the ground and took cover behind the bar.

The assailants then opened fire at the man but failed to hit him before swiftly fleeing the scene on foot.

One of the two was apprehended by two unarmed parking attendants in a nearby street just 100 metres away. they were alerted after the waiter left the bar and shouted “police, police”.

In the suspect’s rucksack, they found the pistol he had allegedly used to shoot at his intended victim, a 32-year-old Spanish national of Dominican origin.

The apprehended individual, who is believed to have fired the shots, is a 17-year-old Spanish national.

His alleged accomplice managed to escape and is the subject of a National Police manhunt.

Officers managed to recover the bullets that were fired, which had lodged in a leg of cured ham known as a jamon – a typical Spanish delicacy – on the bar counter.

Security cameras inside the establishment recorded the events as they unfolded and will be studied by the police to help catch the second perpetrator.

A police spokeswoman hypothesised that the alleged crime might be part of a dispute between youth gangs.

Preliminary findings have suggested as much, but the investigation is still ongoing.

The bar involved in the shootout is said to be popular with young people due to its abundant tapas and low prices. It was said to be not full at the time.

The names of those involved were withheld, as were the images.