Juan José died in the Oviedo bombing on Tuesday morning after a suspicious backpack exploded during a bomb disposal inspection in Oviedo. Another National Police officer was seriously injured, and police dog Deny died during the operation.
The explosion happened on Rafael R. Urrusti Street in Villafría after officers found the backpack at the entrance of the building where a young woman had been shot around 7.30am local time and taken to the Central University Hospital of Asturias. A bomb disposal team began checking the bag, and it exploded as they inspected it.
Juan José and Deny
The National Police named the dead officer as Juan José, who served in the Special Canine Unit. Deny, a 3-year-old German shepherd working alongside him, also died during the operation. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was deeply shocked by the death of the officer in Oviedo and added his support for the seriously injured officer.
The Guardia Civil said it wished the TEDAX-NRBQ officer a speedy recovery. The Spanish Police Confederation said an explosive device detonated and, according to initial reports, may have had tragic consequences for a fellow officer and left several others injured.
Oviedo and the earlier shooting
The police response was already under way because officers were investigating an earlier shooting when the backpack was found. Local authorities said the officers were responding to a neighbourhood dispute, while the explosion took place during the inspection of the suspicious backpack. That sequence leaves the immediate link between the shooting and the blast as the central fact for the case file.
What was inside the backpack and whether the explosion was connected to the earlier shooting remain the open points now. For the force, the immediate consequence is already fixed: Juan José is dead, another officer is badly hurt, and Deny did not come home from the operation.
