Police in Madrid are investigating the death of a 52-year-old woman who was stabbed on Ontanilla street in the Carabanchel district on Tuesday, 20 October. The emergency alert reached the Cimacc command centre at about 14:45, reporting an injured person on the public road. Medics restored her heartbeat at the scene and took her in critical condition to Hospital 12 de Octubre, where she died. Emergency services and the Policía Nacional confirmed the death to Europa Press. El Confidencial places the attack shortly before 15:00 and says the woman was of Guatemalan origin.

The emergency response

Officers from the Grupo de Atención al Ciudadano were the first to arrive, and they found the woman lying on the ground and gave her first aid, according to ABC. SAMUR-Protección Civil and SUMMA 112 medics then carried out resuscitation after she went into cardiac arrest. El Confidencial and ABC both report five stab wounds, while Europa Press says the wounds were mainly to the chest and abdomen. Policía Municipal assisted at the scene.

The investigation

The Grupo V de Homicidios and the Grupo de Delitos Violentos of the Scientific Police have taken over the case. Police have not recovered the weapon and have made no arrests. Officers are keeping every hypothesis open, including a possible case of gender violence, but they have not confirmed a gender-violence motive. El Mundo reported, citing witnesses, that the attacker was a former partner of the woman and that she did not live at the location. No suspect has been publicly identified in the coverage, and the search for the weapon and the attacker remains open.

Madrid's count of women killed

laSexta reported that, if the gender-violence hypothesis is confirmed, this would be the sixth woman killed in gender violence in the Community of Madrid this year. ABC, using its own tally, counts the death as the 28th violent death in the region in 2026. The two figures come from different outlets, and neither is attributed to an official count.

Where to get help

The 016 helpline for victims of gender violence operates 24 hours a day in 53 languages and can also be reached by WhatsApp on 600000016. Victims can also write to 016-online@igualdad.gob.es. Minors can contact the ANAR Foundation on 900 20 20 10. In an emergency, people can call 112, the Policía Nacional on 091 or the Guardia Civil on 062, or use the ALERTCOPS app, which sends police an alert with geolocation.