Suspected suicide bombing near Brazil's Supreme Court leaves 1 dead

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - At least one person is dead following a suspected suicide bombing Wednesday outside Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Two explosions were heard around 7.30 p.m. local time (2200GMT) in Three Powers Square in the capital Brasilia which houses the country's main governmental headquarters.

At a press conference, Brasilia's Acting Governor Celina Leao said a car exploded just outside the lower house of parliament, shortly followed by an attempted break-in into the Supreme Court by an unidentified man carrying explosives.

"The first act that happened was the explosion of the car...then the citizen approached the Supreme Court, tried to enter the building, was unsuccessful, and the (second) explosion occurred there," Leao said.

The incident was presumably a suicide bombing according to the governor.

"We trust that he is a lone wolf," she said.

While security was strengthened at the Palacio do Planalto, the official workplace of Brazil’s president, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was not present at the time of the explosions, with authorities saying he had left hours before the attack for the Palacio da Alvorada, his official residence.

At the time of the attack, the lower house of parliament was voting on an initiative regarding tax exemptions for the Church, which had to be halted following the explosions.

Through his X account, Attorney General Jorge Messias announced an investigation, classifying the explosions as an attack.

"I strongly condemn the attacks against the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Lower House. I express my solidarity with the ministers and lawmakers. The Federal Police will investigate the explosions within the perimeter of Praca dos Tres Poderes (Three Powers Square) with rigor and urgency. We need to understand the motive behind the attacks and restore peace and security as quickly as possible," he said.