A police officer was killed and another was seriously injured in Oviedo, Spain, after an explosive device went off at the scene of a shooting on Tuesday morning. The blast hit as officers were examining a suspicious backpack during a response to reports of a dispute between neighbours.
Spanish police named the dead officer as Juan José and said their hearts were with his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. The injured officer was taken to hospital for treatment, and a woman who had been shot was also taken to hospital. Deny, a three-year-old police dog, was killed in the explosion as well.
The details make plain why the operation turned so quickly from a search into a disaster. Pedro Aguado said officers from Spain's canine unit and explosives disposal unit had arrived and found a backpack with a flashing light while searching for the suspected attacker. He said the package was being moved outside to protect residents when it exploded.
That sequence leaves one hard gap at the center of the case: the suspect had already fled, and police were still searching for him as a widespread operation continued near the scene. The report does not say who shot the woman, who placed the backpack, or whether the shooting and the blast were directly linked. It does say the first alarm came from a neighbour dispute, then ended with one dead officer, another in hospital, and a city still under a large police response.
Pedro Sánchez said he was deeply shocked by the fatal incident and praised the officers' dedication and courage. Alberto Núñez Feijóo called what happened in Oviedo heartbreaking and sent condolences to the family of the officer who died, along with wishes for the recovery of the one who was seriously injured. For now, the most important unanswered question is not what happened at the scene. It is how a routine call about a dispute between neighbours turned into a deadly blast before police could catch the suspect.
