A 10-year-old boy has been hacked to death with a machete, and his father was shot dead by police in a shocking incident in Tenerife. The dead child’s mother, who was also severely injured by the same weapon, is fighting for her life in the hospital. She has suffered severe wounds to her arms and legs. Her condition has been described as critical.

Residents of Cabo Blanco, a small village near the popular holiday resort of Los Cristianos in the south of the island, say they are totally shocked and horrified. Cabo Blanco is in the municipality of Arona. The boy died early on Friday morning (February 20) after allegedly being attacked by his father with a machete inside a house. The child’s mother was also seriously injured during the event and remains in hospital after suffering multiple injuries.

The alert was received by the Civil Guard at around 1am after police were told of the presence of an armed person inside a home.

When officers arrived at the scene, there was a stand-off, ending with the alleged assailant, a 34-year-old man, attacking one of the Civil Guard officers with a machete. In response, the officers used their service weapons and the man was shot and killed instantly. Police said he was “extremely violent.”

The injured officer was taken to a hospital, where he remains hospitalised and awaiting surgery, although his life is not in danger, according to initial reports.

Arona Local Police worked alongside the Civil Guard, attending to the woman and applying a tourniquet due to the severity of her injuries.

The mayor of Arona, Fátima Lemes, in her first statements to Canarias Radio, has confirmed the event and explained that they received several calls alerting them to the presence of an armed person in the house. Once the agents accessed the interior of the property, they located the lifeless body of the minor.

From the Civil Guard, as well as from the communication office of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSCJ), it is stated that in the judicial records, there is no record of complaints against the man who allegedly killed his son, and he did not have a criminal record. 

At the moment, the investigation is being developed as a possible case of gender violence.