Neither the hundreds of kilometers that separated them, nor the restraining order, nor the conviction for gender-based violence were enough to prevent the femicide. A 49-year-old civil guard, stationed at the Zamora Command, shot and killed his ex-partner, 50 years old, with whom he had three children in common, who have been left orphaned.
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The crime took place in broad daylight, after the attacker entered the premises where the victim worked at noon, also from the Civil Guard, went into the facilities and opened fire on his ex-partner, who was working in the office. But, how was the attacker able to access the office area of the barracks and cold-bloodedly murder his ex-partner?
The attacker knew the barracks, as he had worked there before the abuse complaint
Shortly before 1:30 p.m., the civil guard entered through the garage, taking advantage of the fact that the officer in charge of the door was attending to a complaint and did not notice his arrival, according to the local media La Nueva España. It should be noted that the attacker, named Dámaso, knew the Llanes barracks well, where he had served before being assigned to the Zamora Command after the complaint his ex-partner, Laura, filed against him for abuse.
Later, Dámaso went up an internal staircase to the office area, armed and wearing a bulletproof vest. On the way, he crossed paths with a civil guard, serving in the gender violence victim support service, at whom he fired but did not hit, as the bullet struck a bulletproof screen. “Then, he went to the senior officers’ office, where his ex-wife was, and opened fire on her,” details the local media.
The femicide perpetrator died during the shootout with other officers
During his escape, a lieutenant tried to help the victim and was seriously wounded by a bullet in the leg from the attacker. The attacker continued his path trying to leave the building through the same place he had entered, and a group of officers exchanged gunfire to try to prevent his escape. In that exchange of gunfire, the perpetrator was also injured, and after being attended by medical services, he died two hours later in the mobile ICU in which he was being evacuated.
When trying to flee, a lieutenant came to the victim’s aid and was shot in the leg, suffering serious injuries. The attacker continued his route intending to leave the building through the same access he had entered, but a group of officers intercepted him and opened fire to prevent his escape. In the exchange of gunfire, the attacker was also shot and seriously wounded. After being treated by medical services, he died two hours later in the mobile ICU in which he was being evacuated.
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Both victim and attacker were registered in the VioGén system, and the victim had a restraining order since 2019 and, as a precautionary measure, the attacker was then stripped of his service weapon. The conviction for abuse later became final.
The attacker had been notified just a few days ago of his definitive expulsion from the Civil Guard, once the disciplinary proceeding opened against him for a “very serious” offense was concluded. According to the investigation, Dámaso took the service weapon from a colleague in Zamora the day before the crime, traveled to Llanes, and shot his ex-partner.
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Several local media report how some neighbors, witnesses to what happened, try to understand what occurred yesterday in the official premises. “I heard the shots and it seemed like a movie. The police and civil guards started running, guns in hand, after him,” a witness told La Nueva España. “Later, three ambulances entered from the back,” said this neighbor, from whose home she observed the magnitude of the event.
The victim, born in Madrid, had been stationed in Llanes for years and was “very well known” and “very loved” in the Asturian municipality, according to several local media. The attacker, from Ferrol, had been stationed for several years at the Zamora Command, after the restraining order was issued for a gender violence crime. At this time, he worked in the canine unit dedicated to detecting drugs with trained dogs.
Two days of official mourning in Llanes
The municipality of Llanes is shocked after the sexist crime that occurred yesterday in the police premises and has declared two days of official mourning in the council after Laura’s murder. During this Thursday and Friday, the flags of the council’s public buildings will fly at half-mast.
Additionally, the Government Delegation in Asturias, the Government of the Principality, and the Llanes City Council have jointly condemned Laura’s femicide and, through an institutional declaration, have expressed their “strongest condemnation and rejection,” as well as their support and closeness to the victim’s circle. They have also made “a call to all citizens to join the gathering condemning and rejecting this sexist murder that will take place tomorrow, Thursday, August 6 at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Llanes City Hall.”
This case, along with the one that also occurred yesterday in Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia), would raise to 35 the number of women murdered so far this year, 1,376 since 2003. This annual figure would be the worst since 2021 at this time, according to the gender violence statistics collected by the Ministry of Equality.
These last two cases, occurring just hours apart, add to the nine women murdered between June and July, the last of them, Paula, 27 years old, on the 31st in Santander.
