Manhunt in Spain after boy killed playing football

A police manhunt for a man suspected of killing an 11-year-old boy with a sharp object on a football pitch in Spain has entered a second day.

The victim, who has been named as Mateo, is thought to have been playing with other children when he was attacked by a person wearing a hood.

The attack happened on a field at the Ángel Tardío sports centre in Mocejón, near the city of Toledo, in central Spain on Sunday morning.

The suspect, reportedly described by the Civil Guard as a man wearing shorts and a white T-shirt, with dark hair and his face covered by a handkerchief, is said to have fled the scene in a grey Ford Mondeo.

The attack happened at about 10:00 local time (09:00 BST). Broadcaster RTVE said a government delegation had confirmed that the victim suffered 10 stab wounds.

A dozen patrols are said to have been deployed to look for the suspect, aided by an underwater unit and air surveillance.

Mayors and councillors gathered at the entrance of Toledo’s Provincial Palace at 12:00 (11:00 BST) on Monday for a minute’s silence for Mateo and a 17-year-old girl shot dead on Saturday in nearby Otero.

Asell Sánchez, a cousin of Mateo said to be acting as a spokesman for the family, told Spanish media they had no idea who was responsible.

He was quoted as saying: “He was a super good boy, super affectionate, he was playing with his friends, someone arrived, we have no further information. These are difficult times.”

Mocejón, with a population of about 5,000, has declared three days of official mourning.

Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, expressed his support for law enforcement agencies involved in the search.

In a post on X on Monday, he promised “the full weight of the law will fall” on the perpetrator, adding: “My thoughts are with Mateo’s family, with his friends and with the entire municipality.”

Concepción Cedillo, mayor of Mocejón, told reporters on Sunday: “It is a sad day, with a town broken by pain, and if every murder is painful, how much more so the murder of an innocent child who was playing football with his friends this morning.”

Milagros Tolon, the Spanish government’s representative in the Castilla-La Mancha region, posted on X: “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 Civil Guard has deployed a wide-ranging operation to arrest the perpetrator.

“All my love to the family and friends of the deceased, as well as to the people of Mocejón.”