Spain's parties suspend election activities after shooting in Leon

Spain's political parties decided to suspend the activities they had planned for Monday following the fatal shooting of the President of the Deputation of Leon, Isabel Carrasco,earlier in the day.

As well as suspending their activities for Monday, the Popular Party (PP) has announced it will suspend all of its activities for Tuesday, with the exception of the televised debate its candidate, Miguel Arias Canete will hold with Socialist candidate Elena Valenciano.

Carrasco, who was a member of the PP and the first women to hold the post of President of the Deputation of Leon, was shot several times in what the police have called a question of "personal vengeance," shortly after 5:20 p.m. local time in the city of Leon.

Two women, a mother and daughter aged 55 and 35, have been arrested by police. The daughter, Montserrat Triana Martinez Gonzalez, who is an engineer by profession, had previously stood as a PP candidate for the municipal elections in the town of Astorga in 2007.

Police sources report she had recently been sacked from her position in the Deputation, where she had worked for the past seven years. Meanwhile forensic scientists are working to discover which of the two women fired the shots which killed Carrasco.