Police confirm explosions near Brazil’s Supreme Court that left one dead were a suicide attack

A person died this Wednesday after detonating two explosive devices near the Supreme Court of Justice of Brazilon the Esplanade des Trois Pouvoirs. Police confirmed it was a suicide attack.

The events occurred around 7:30 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. Spanish peninsular time), as a plenary session of the court was ending. In a statement, the Supreme Court noted that “two loud bangs were heard at the end of the session.”

A police spokesperson told local media that the attacker committed suicide by setting off an explosive device. apparently homemadenext to a statue in front of the highest court. After this detonation, there was a second explosion in a car which was parked nearby, next to a building attached to the Chamber of Deputies.

According to the HCH television channel, the explosions occurred with a difference of 20 seconds. After carrying out initial investigations, police declared that the two explosions were linked. In the trunk of the car, as verified by a journalist from Efethere were remains of explosives and bricks.

The corpse of the deceased, not yet identifiedremained on the ground in front of the Supreme Court, partially mutilated by the explosion. Official sources revealed the identity of the owner of the car that exploded. It is about Francisco Wanderley Luizmember of the Liberal Partythe acronym spearheaded by former President Jair Bolsonaro.

After the explosions, magistrates were evacuated from the building “in complete safety” and civil servants and collaborators were also expelled as a precautionary measure, according to the Supreme Court. Firefighters and police attended and isolated the area.

Coup attempt scenario

The Esplanade of the Three Powers is the political heart of the country, since it is made up of the Supreme Court, the Planalto Palace (presidential seat) and the National Congress.

In 2023, it was also the epicenter of the coup attempt perpetrated by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters on January 8 during an attack that the courts describe as an attempted coup d’état against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The Supreme Court is one of the main targets of attacks by former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters.