Brazil’s top court evacuates after two nearby explosions, man dead
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil’s Supreme Court was evacuated after two explosions went off outside the building on Wednesday night and a man was killed by one blast in the square in front of the court, police and eyewitnesses said.
The justices were evacuated safely, the court said in a statement.
The first explosion was in a car park adjacent to the court building, and local television showed the blast occurred in the boot of a parked car.
Police swept the area for other explosive devices, and the country’s solicitor general called the explosions on social media an “attack.”
The body of the dead man was found lying in the square opposite the court. It was not clear what his connection was to the second explosion.
The Supreme Court is located across the square from Brazil’s presidential palace, where President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva had left for the night minutes before the explosions.
Local media outlet UOL said a man was seen near the front of Supreme Court building with explosives, without saying how it got the information.
The two explosions were heard within 20 seconds of each other, according to local media.
(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry and Sandra Maler)