Manhunt in Spain after 11-year-old boy is killed while playing football

Police in Spain on Sunday were searching for a man suspected of killing an 11-year-old boy with a sharp object on a football pitch.

The victim was reportedly playing with other children when he was attacked by a person with his faced masked with a handkerchief.

The attack happened in Mocejón, near the city of Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha), in central Spain on Sunday morning.

The suspect, reported to be a young man around 18, then fled the scene. A large manhunt is under way.

Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE said the attack happened at around 10am. It said a dozen patrols were looking for the suspect and a helicopter has joined the search.

Mocejón, a town with a population of about 5,000, is set to declare three days of official mourning, according to Spanish media.

Milagros Tolón, the Spanish government’s representative in the Castilla-La Mancha region, posted on X/Twitter: ‘It is with great sadness that I receive the news of the murder of a minor in Mocejón (Toledo) after being attacked with a sharp object. The Guardia Civil has deployed a wide-ranging operation to arrest the perpetrator.’

Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla-La Mancha, said he was shocked by the events in Mocejón and hoped the perpetrator was found soon.

‘I am shocked by the events that occurred in Mocejón this morning. I express my condolences and my sympathy to the family of the minor and also the hope that the perpetrator of the events is found soon and brought to court as soon as possible. These situations are unacceptable and must result in a just punishment,’ he wrote.

ACTUALIZACIÓN | Muere un niño de 10 años apuñalado por un hombre en un campo de fútbol de Mocejón, Toledo

Un dispositivo de búsqueda trata de localizar al agresor, que ha huido

💬 La última hora, con @laurapaviatv https://t.co/cPAn78aLlI pic.twitter.com/aUgtADfBos

— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) August 18, 2024