Federal police in Brazil are investigating after a pair of explosions rocked the heart of the country’s capital Brasilia, just steps away from the Federal Supreme Court (STF).At least one person was reported dead. The court itself was evacuated, as plumes of smoke and fire were visible from the air.
“At the end of the [Supreme Court] session on Wednesday, two loud bangs were heard, and the ministers were safely removed from the building,” the court said in a press release.
In a separate statement, the federal police indicated it had deployed a rapid intervention group and a bomb control squad to the area, known as Brasilia’s Three Powers Plaza.
Those units, it explained, were in charge of “carrying out initial security actions and analysing the site”.
“A police inquiry will be opened to investigate the attack,” the federal police added.
Local media have reported that the explosions took place near the Supreme Court and along a street near an annex building, where a car was parked. Some witnesses said they saw smoke pouring from the car’s trunk.
No motive has been released yet in Wednesday’s bombing incident, nor has a suspect been identified.
But Celina Leao — the vice-governor of the Federal District, where the capital is located — said that at least one of the explosions coincided with an unknown individual approaching the doors of the Supreme Court.
“A citizen approached the Supreme Court, where he tried to enter inside the building but couldn’t proceed. And then the explosion happened at the door,” Leao told the media.
In the aftermath of the incident, the head of the Supr …
