Spanish police search for man suspected of killing 11-year-old boy on football pitch

Spanish police launched a manhunt on Sunday after an 11-year-old boy was killed in a knife attack on a soccer field.

The attack occurred around 10 a.m. at the Angel Tardio sports center in Mocejon, near the city of Toledo, while the victim was playing with other children.

The suspect, a young man of about 18 years of age, stormed onto the field with a sharp object and attacked the children. Olive press reported. He was wearing a hoodie.

The victim, whose name was not released, fell to the ground and suffered cardiac arrest. Rescue workers were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead at the scene, the news agency reported.

Local residents claimed the field was closed, but the children sneaked in through a broken fence.

A Guardia Civil search team was looking for the suspect with the support of helicopters while investigating the motive of the attack, BBC News reported.

The mayor of Mocejón, Concepción Cedillo, condemned the murder and declared three days of mourning.

“This is a sad day for a city torn by pain. And if every murder is painful, how much more painful is the murder of an innocent child who was playing football with his friends this morning,” he said.

Mocejón is a municipality of about 5,000 inhabitants in Castile-La Mancha, whose president Emiliano Garcia-Page also called for rapid action.

“I hope that the perpetrator will be found and brought to justice as soon as possible. Such situations are unacceptable and must lead to a just punishment,” he said.