A man killed himself with a bomb outside Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday after trying to enter the building, officials said, raising security concerns before the country hosts the Group of 20 world leaders. Concerns are growing.
The explosion occurred five days before the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, followed by Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the capital Brasilia.
The first of two explosions occurred Wednesday night in a parking lot near the courthouse building, and a second explosion seconds later occurred in front of the courthouse, where the man's body was discovered.
Federal District Lieutenant Governor Selina Leo said preliminary information suggests the man committed suicide with an explosive device after attempting to enter the Supreme Court. She said he had a car nearby and another explosion opened the trunk.
Leo said he hopes it was the work of a “lone wolf” but is not sure.
“We believe it was a suicide because there was only one victim. However, the investigation will reveal whether that is indeed the case.”
Police said they had not made a final identification of the deceased man due to the risk of further explosives in his body.
The explosion occurred around Plaza de la Trinidad, an iconic plaza in Brasilia that connects the main buildings of the three branches of Brazil's federal government.
It was the site of a riot on January 8 last year, when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked buildings to protest his election loss.
Police have deployed an explosive ordnance disposal squad equipped with explosive ordnance disposal robots to a plaza in the center of Brazil's capital to investigate the explosion. The Supreme Court justices had just finished their plenary session when the explosion occurred and quickly evacuated to safety, a court statement said.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had left the Executive Palace on Wednesday night just before the explosion.
