A Kill Bomb Occurs Outside Brazil's Supreme Court Ahead Of The G20 Meeting
JAKARTA - A man committed suicide by bombing outside the Brazilian Supreme Court after trying to enter the building on Wednesday, officials said, raising security concerns before the country hosted world leaders from the Group of 20 countries (G2).
The explosion came five days before the G20 heads of state met in Rio de Janeiro, followed by state visits to the Brazilian capital by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The first of the two explosions occurred on Wednesday night in a parking lot near the court building. The second explosion occurred seconds later in front of the court, where the man's body was found.
Deputy Governor of Celina Leao Federal District said preliminary information indicated the man committed suicide with explosives after trying to enter the Supreme Court.
He said the man had a nearby car whose trunk was open due to another explosion.
Leao said he hoped it was a "lone wolf" crime, but he could not confirm it.
Meanwhile, police said they had not yet carried out the final identification of the dead man because they were facing the risk of additional explosives on his body.
The Supreme Court judges just ended the plenary session when the explosion occurred and were immediately safely evacuated, the court said in a statement.
Meanwhile, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left the executive palace on Wednesday night shortly before the explosion.
The explosion occurred in the vicinity of Plaza of the Three Powers, the iconic square in Brasilia that connects major buildings from three branches of the Brazilian federal government.
It was the scene of riots on January 8 last year when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro clashed over buildings to protest his defeat in the general election.
Police then deployed a bomb disposal squad with explosives disposal robots to the square in the heart of the Brazilian capital to investigate the explosion.