AN 11-YEAR-old boy has been stabbed to death by a masked man while playing football with friends.
The suspect fled after attacking the youngster on the football pitch at around 9.45am on Sunday.
4
4
The boy collapsed by the touchline at a sports complex in the small town of Mocejon in the Spanish province of Toledo – an hour’s drive south of Madrid.
The killer first tried to stab several others and then reportedly turned on the boy when they fled.
He was not targeting a specific victim, but attacked the first person he could reach, according to local media reports.
A relative of the boy spoke to media at the scene and said said he was told about the stabbing from another boy playing.
He said: “Suddenly he ran out saying that his best friend had been killed. He was here playing football with three friends, someone arrived and we have no further information.
“These are very difficult times… and we ask for respect for the pain we are going through.”
Emergency responders desperately tried to save the boy as he went into cardiac arrest – but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A police manhunt is underway for the suspect – with police putting up a helicopter.
The attacker was said to have had his face covered with a scarf and sped off in a grey Ford Mondeo.
The Civil Guard is investigating the horror attack – which occurred at the Ángel Tardío sports centre.
Pictures from the scene showed cops guarding the entrance to the sports centre as a Civil Guard chopper circles the area.
The boy’s family are understood to have been informed about what had happened.
According to ABC, a devastated relative at the scene said: “What are we going to do without him?”
Shocked neighbours told the newspaper: “It could have happened to anyone.”
There is no known motive for the attack at this stage and police have stepped up patrols in the area.
Milagros Tolon, the area’s government representative, said: “It is with great sadness that I’ve been told the news about the murder of a minor in Mocejon in Toledo after being attacked.
“The Civil Guard has launched a large operation to catch the person responsible.
“All my thoughts to the family and friends of the dead child, and for the town of Mocejon.”
The Mocejón Town Council is going to declare three days of official mourning for this murder.
The town mayor said: “We are shocked by this event, and above all we want to express our support to the family and friends of the little boy.”
4