A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing an 11-year-old boy to death while he played football.
The suspect was taken in for questioning following a two-day manhunt in Mocejón, central Spain.
Two house raids were carried out in the area during the “extensive” search operation, according to the Spanish Civil Guard.
A dozen patrols had reportedly been deployed to look for the suspect, aided by an underwater unit and air surveillance.
Local media reports the suspect is a 20-year-old man from the area.
He is said to have fled the scene in a grey Ford Mondeo with a scarf covering his face.
The masked man attacked the child, named Mateo, while he played with friends on a local sports pitch at around 9.45 am on Sunday.
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.
Broadcaster RTVE said a government delegation had confirmed that the victim suffered 10 stab wounds.
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.
Pictures from the scene showed cops guarding the entrance to the sports centre as a Civil Guard chopper circles the area.
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.
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.”
