Operation Cage in search of 'El Ruso': more than 300 police officers try to catch the perpetrator of the explosion in Oviedo

The National Police continues this Wednesday the 'cage operation' in the surroundings of Oviedo to locate the escaped man after the explosion of a backpack bomb and the shooting in Villafría that left one police officer dead, another seriously injured and a woman also injured by gunshots. Yesterday the agents began the search for Manuel F., alias 'El Ruso', the alleged perpetrator of the event and have closed all access to the city, searching vehicles and occupants, according to El Comercio.

There are three hundred agents looking for an individual who has multiple records and previous arrests. It is considered extremely dangerous. Oviedo taxi drivers received the following notice at 9:53 a.m.: "Did anyone pick up a man of about 65 years old, bald, and wearing a checkered bathrobe this morning around 7:30 a.m. in the Rafael Urrusti area? Please contact headquarters immediately." That is the description of the person the Police are looking for.

The newspaper El Comercio assures that the search on the ground focuses on the surroundings of the Winter Park, La Majoya and Las Campas, in addition to inspecting hostels, homes of friends and relatives and train and bus stations. "Also the city's cemeteries, after the police learned of the recent death of the suspect's mother. At first it was thought that she could be hidden next to her grave, but that was not the case," says the Asturian media.

According to information provided by the police union Jupol to the media, the officers went to the scene after receiving a tip related to a girl who had been shot and whose father was trying to take her to the hospital. Upon arrival at the property, they located a backpack in the doorway that contained an explosive device. The spokesman for the National Police in Oviedo, Pedro Aguado, indicated that, so that the residents of the building were not in danger, the agents took the package out onto the street and when they were handling it the explosion occurred.

The agents have also vacated the Villafría property as a precaution to ensure that there was no type of dangerous element for the neighbors and to check all the homes, storage rooms and garages and verify that the perpetrator was not hiding. Thus, residents will not be able to return until it is confirmed that there is no risk of new explosives.