A backpack left above the mailboxes exploded as officers tried to move it away from the landing and protect residents of a block in Oviedo. The blast occurred at about 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, killing National Police sub-inspector Juan José Rodríguez and Deny, his three-year-old German shepherd assigned to the force’s canine unit.
The device had been placed in the entrance of the building on Rafael R. Urrusti Street in the Villafría neighbourhood. A TEDAX officer, a specialist in the National Police’s explosives-disposal service, was seriously injured and underwent emergency surgery. Local reports said he suffered injuries to his leg and eye and was later considered out of danger. The search for the suspect was continuing when the reports were published.
Police had gone to the social housing block after a shooting at about 7:30 that morning. Manuel, a 64-year-old known as El Ruso, was suspected of shooting a 17-year-old girl as she left for school; her father tried to help her during the gunfire. Investigators linked the attack to a dispute between neighbours, according to the account. An earlier report on the incident also described residents hearing gunfire before the explosion.
Residents told the Asturian newspaper El Comercio that El Ruso had taken up a position to fire at neighbours with whom he had a longstanding dispute. The paper reported their claim that he wanted to blow up the building. It also said the girl was the first person to leave through the entrance and was shot at close range; the account characterised her being hit as indiscriminate.
Informativos Telecinco, in a report by Noemi Bautista, said officers were searching homes and garages in and around Villafría as they tried to locate him. The National Police was also investigating whether the shooting and the explosion were connected. His wife had been detained while investigators reconstructed the events.
At the time of the reports, the suspect was believed to have at least two firearms and might also have another explosive device similar to the one found at the entrance. He had previous records for assault and coercion, along with criminal damage; other records involved threats and theft.
