A manhunt is underway for an Algerian national suspected of murdering a 40-year-old Spanish man after the victim was found lying on a tram line in Valencia with his throat slit.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the crime scene on the Moreras bridge at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday after two witnesses reported seeing a man have his throat cut with a large knife by the suspect.
Las Provincias reported that the police believed the alleged perpetrator to be a man of Algerian origin, while a second Black man is also being sought in connection with the gruesome murder.
The 40-year-old victim has been named as José P. He is understood to have first been stabbed in the neck following a dispute between the victim and his attackers.
Spanish media reported how youths gathered and took photographs of the “practically decapitated body” which went viral on WhatsApp. Police then cordoned off the area and prevented traffic from crossing the bridge as investigations were carried out.
The attacker is believed to have fled on foot and discarded his bloodied shirt outside the Fomesa company in the city near to where the attack took place.
Despite attempts by police officers, including those in plain clothes, to apprehend the suspect, they were unsuccessful after a 2.5-hour search.
The body was transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Valencia for an autopsy, and a murder investigation is ongoing by the homicide division of the National Police.