Laurence Dollimore
A 20-YEAR-OLD man has reportedly confessed to killing an 11-year-old boy during a horrific attack at a sports centre in Spain.
The suspect (pictured above on news channel Telecinco), who has yet to be named, was arrested on Monday afternoon following a 24-hour manhunt in Mocejon, Toledo.
According to national broadcaster La Sexta, the man admitted carrying out the attack to Guardia Civil detectives.
At around 9.20am on Sunday, a masked attacker ran onto a football pitch where children were playing while brandishing a bladed weapon.
Witnesses said he appeared to be trying to catch any child he could, before a young boy named only as Mateo fell over by the stands.
It was then that the attacker grabbed him and stabbed him 11 times, delivering at least three fatal blows to his vital organs.
The attack has left the town in shock and sources say the family of the victim has been ‘destroyed’ by the incident.
The alleged killer, who is said to have fled the scene in a grey Ford Mondeo, was arrested 36 hours later.
Police have since carried out raids on two homes in the town in search of the murder weapon – which has yet to be located.
Detectives are scouring a nearby canal for the blade, where they believe it may have been thrown by the killer during his escape.
Sources told El Español that it is believed the alleged killer suffers from a mental illness.
He currently lives in Madrid with his mother but had been spending a few days in Mocejon visiting his father, reports La Sexta.
The broadcaster reported that the detainee was a friend of Mateo’s neighbour and knew the group of children who had been playing on the football field on Sunday.
The motive for the crime remains unknown, but it has been ruled out that it was a lone wolf jihadist attack, following unfounded speculation by far-right forces online.
The investigation continues.
