A Spanish police officer died and another sustained serious injuries on Tuesday morning when a suspicious backpack detonated during a neighborhood dispute response in Oviedo.
A woman who had been shot was transported to the hospital for treatment.
According to the Spanish news agency Europa Press, shots may have been fired beforehand. Authorities contacted the National Police Tedax bomb-disposal team and the canine unit to examine the object.
A sub-inspector from the canine unit approached the bag, and police spokesman Pedro Aguado explained the sequence of events. While the package was being moved outside to ensure the safety of the residents, an explosion occurred,
Aguado said. The initial accounts put the blast between 8:40 a.m. and 9 a.m.
The blast killed a canine-unit sub-inspector and a three-year-old police dog named Deny. A Tedax bomb-disposal agent accompanying the sub-inspector was seriously injured, and EL MUNDO reported that he suffered the amputation of a leg before being taken to the Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias.
Spanish police identified the slain officer as Juan José. In a post on the platform X, the department paid tribute to the deceased, writing, Our hearts are with his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones.
National leaders offered public condolences as security forces maintained a large operation near the site. Taking to social media, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was deeply shocked
by the fatal incident and paid tribute to the officer injured in the explosion. Your dedication and courage deserve the gratitude of an entire country,
he said.
Spanish opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo also addressed the tragedy, stating, What happened in Oviedo is heartbreaking. My condolences to the family of the officer who died and my best wishes for the recovery of the one who was seriously injured.
🇪🇸 A Spanish National Police officer was killed and a bomb disposal officer lost a leg when a backpack explosive detonated in Oviedo on Tuesday, after officers responded to a shooting in which a 17-year-old girl was wounded; the gunman fled. Residents reported shots in the… pic.twitter.com/c06kgiHEQx
Oviedo mayor Alfredo Canteli was traveling to the scene to gather information as investigators worked to establish the exact circumstances.