MADRID, Aug 19 — Police in Spain are hunting for a suspect believed to have killed an 11-year-old boy with a sharp object on a football pitch, according to BBC.

The report said the boy was playing with other children when a hooded attacker struck.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning in Mocejón, near Toledo, central Spain. The suspect, described as a young man around 18, fled the scene, prompting a large-scale manhunt.

According to broadcaster RTVE government sources confirmed the attack happened around 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT). It said a dozen patrols were looking for the suspect and a helicopter has joined the search.

Crowds gathered outside the town hall for a minute’s silence in tribute to the boy on Sunday afternoon.

Mocejón mayor Concepción Cedillo told reporters: "It is a sad day, with a town broken by pain, and if every murder is painful, how much more so the murder of an innocent child who was playing football with his friends this morning.”

The town, with a population of about 5,000, is set to declare three days of official mourning, according to Spanish media.

Milagros Tolon, the Spanish government’s representative in the Castilla-La Mancha region, posted on X: "It is with great sadness that I receive the news of the murder of a minor in #Mocejón (Toledo) after being attacked with a sharp object.

"The Civil Guard has deployed a wide-ranging operation to arrest the perpetrator.

"All my love to the family and friends of the deceased, as well as to the people of Mocejón.”