A 25-year-old Guardia Civil officer who worked as a bodyguard for King Felipe has taken his own life in the Madrid area.
Neighbours heard a shot ring out from his home in Villanueva del Pardillo and called emergency services.
Paramedics were unable to do anything to save him when they arrived at the property.
The man had used his service weapon to kill himself.
Reports say that he wanted to change his duties due to stress and was also going through a separation process with his partner.
King Felipe and Queen Letiizia were said to be shocked by the news and sent a private condolence message to the officer’s family.
The Queen is a stronger supporter of mental health initiatives and was named in April as a UNICEF ambassador for the mental well-being of adolescents and young people.
Her sister Erika Ortiz took her life in 2007.
The bodyguard’s death is the third suicide involving a police officer in the last week.
As previously reported by the Olive Press, a Policia Nacional officer shot himself at a Castellon courthouse and a Guardia Civil officer killed her two daughters in Cuenca before turning the gun on herself.
Despite the launch of a police mental health initiatives two years ago, 34 members of the Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil committed suicide in 2021- 54% more than in 2020.
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