France: a bomb explosion in Lyon has injured 13 people, including a child. Police are seeking the masked suspect who left the device on the street. https://t.co/gqVLIQxYjd— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) May 24, 2019
BBC News, UK
written by Staff
Friday May 24, 2019
French police have made an appeal for information in their hunt for a man suspected of planting a parcel bomb in Lyon, which injured 13 people.
The device went off outside a bakery on a busy street in the heart of the country's third-biggest city.
Those hurt, including a girl aged eight, appear to have suffered superficial injuries.
Anti-terrorist prosecutors have taken over the investigation and security has been boosted in public places.
Police released a grainy image of the suspect taken from CCTV footage.
They said he was wearing a long-sleeved dark top and light-coloured shorts.
[#AppelÀTémoins ACTUALISÉ] Nouvelles photos et description de l’homme suspecté d’être l’auteur de l’explosion au colis piégé à #Lyon, rue Victor Hugo.— Police nationale (@PoliceNationale) May 25, 2019
Si vous avez des informations, #AidezNous.
Appelez le 197. pic.twitter.com/e9nUDCiWxd
A police source told AFP news agency the suspect appeared to be about 30 and was using a black mountain bike.
What do we know so far?
The device, which was reportedly full of screws, nuts and bolts, exploded around 17:30 (15:30 GMT) on Victor-Hugo Street, in the historic city centre, between the Saone and Rhone rivers.
French media quoted a receptionist at a nearby hotel as saying there had been a "deafening blast".
"I saw people running and panicking and heard several cries," Alexis Saillan told BFMTV.
The last time a parcel bomb had exploded in France was in 2007 when a device killed one person and injured another in front of a law office in Paris, AFP news agency reports. Police never found the bomber.
Jihadist gun and bomb attacks have killed more than 250 people in France since 2015 and the country remains on high alert, with military patrols a regular feature of security in cities including Lyon.
The blast in Lyon comes days before France votes in the European elections after a closely fought race.
Seven hurt in suspected bomb blast in Lyon.— David Videcette (@DavidVidecette) May 24, 2019
The device was said to contain "screws or bolts" and had been placed in front of a bakery on the corner of two popular streets.
Eight people are injured but none appear to be life-threatening. https://t.co/Opw7q7ozi2
The Local, France
written by AFP staff
Friday May 24, 2019
At least 13 people - including an 8-year-old girl - were wounded on Friday by a suspected package bomb blast on a pedestrian street in the heart of Lyon, southeast France.
The area where the explosion occurred, on the narrow strip of land between the Saone and Rhone rivers in the historic city centre, has been evacuated, according to AFP journalists at the scene.
According to reports in the French press a man was seen arriving in the area on a bike before leaving some kind of package or suitcase at the scene. The man has not been arrested and is the subject of a police manhunt.
There has been an explosion in central Lyon - Rue Victor Hugo. I'm on the scene... updates to come. pic.twitter.com/wer6HsYdXA— Gareth Browne (@BrowneGareth) May 24, 2019
A police source told AFP the package contained "screws or bolts" and had been placed in front of a bakery on the corner of the two popular streets.
Police said that none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.
President Emmanuel Macron called the blast an "attack" during a live Facebook interview, adding that no deaths had been reported "for the time being."
"It's not for me to give a toll but it appears there are no casualties. There have been injuries, so obviously I'm thinking of these injured and their families," Macron said
"An eight-year-old girl was wounded.... We're fairly relieved because apparently there were no serious injuries but on the other hand, we are certain it was an explosive device," said Denis Broliquier, mayor of the city's Second Arrondissement.
He said the suspect sought by police had been seen on video surveillance cameras.
"There was an explosion and I thought it was a car crash," said Eva, a 17-year-old student who was about 15 metres (50 feet) from the site of the blast.
"There were bits of electric wire near me, and batteries and bits of cardboard and plastic. The windows were blown out," he said.
A terrorism probe has been opened by the Paris prosecutor's office, which has jurisdiction over all terror cases in the country.
France has been on high alert following a wave of deadly jihadist terror attacks since 2015 which have killed more than 250 people.
"It's an area in the very centre of Lyon, a major street," the city's deputy mayor in charge of security, Jean-Yves Secheresse, told BFM television.
"These areas are highly secured, the police are continually present," as were patrols by soldiers deployed in a long-running anti-terror operation, he said.
A planned concert by British singer Ed Sheeran went ahead in Lyon, albeit with heightened security.
Police issue an appeal for witnesses as they seek the suspect, a man is believed to be in his early 30s on a mountain bicycle who is caught on security cameras in the area immediately before the explosion #FrenchPolice https://t.co/jirKDWcXn7— The Daily Star (@dailystarnews) May 25, 2019
The Daily Star
written by AFP staff
Saturday May 25, 2019
Police in France were on Saturday hunting a suspect following a blast in a pedestrian street in the heart of the city of Lyon that wounded more than a dozen people just two days ahead of the country's hotly contested European Parliament elections.
President Emmanuel Macron called the explosion that happened Friday, apparently from a package packed with shrapnel, an "attack" and sent his interior minister, Christophe Castaner, to Lyon.
Police issued an appeal for witnesses on Twitter as they sought the suspect, a man believed to be in his early 30s on a mountain bicycle caught on security cameras in the area immediately before the explosion.
An image of the man, wearing light-coloured shorts and a longsleeved dark top, was posted. He was described as "dangerous".
The country's justice minister, Nicole Belloubet, told BFM television it was too soon to say whether the blast was a "terrorist act".
The number of wounded stood at 13 people, with 11 taken to hospitals. None of the injuries was life-threatening. The casualties comprised eight women, a 10-year-old girl, and four men.
A police source said the package contained "screws or bolts". It had been placed in front of a bakery near a busy corner of two popular streets at around 17:30 pm (1530 GMT) Friday, on a balmy spring evening.
The blast occurred on a narrow strip of land between the Saone and Rhone rivers in the historic centre of the southeast city. The area was evacuated and cordoned off by police.
"There was an explosion and I thought it was a car crash," said Eva, a 17-year-old student who was about 15 metres (50 feet) from the site of the blast.
"There were bits of electric wire near me, and batteries and bits of cardboard and plastic. The windows were blown out," he said.
'A huge 'boom''
The attack upended last-minute campaigning ahead of the European Parliament vote on Sunday with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe cancelling his appearance at his centrist party's final rally Friday night.
A terrorism probe was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office, which has jurisdiction over all terror cases in the country. Interior Minister Christophe Castener was on his way to Lyon.
"I was working, serving customers, and all of a sudden there was a huge 'boom'," said Omar Ghezza, a baker who works nearby.
"We though it had something to do with renovation work. But in fact it was an abandoned package," he said.
High alert
France has been on high alert following a wave of deadly jihadist terror attacks since 2015 which have killed more than 250 people.
"It's an area in the very centre of Lyon, a major street," the city's deputy mayor in charge of security, Jean-Yves Secheresse, told BFM television.
"These areas are highly secured, the police are continually present," as were patrols by soldiers deployed in a long-running anti-terror operation, he said.
Lyon is the third-biggest city in France. The population of the city plus its extensive suburbs is 2.3 million.
The most recent package bomb in France dates back to December 2007, when an explosion in front of a law office in Paris killed one person and injured another. Police never found who carried out that attack.
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