BEIJING — A man detonated a bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Thursday, Beijing police said. The suspected bomber was the only person injured in the blast, according to an embassy spokesperson.
Explosion outside US embassy in Beijing. No reports of injuries or deaths as yet. This video from the scene making rounds on social media here #Beijing #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/N2NezbTrTv
— Tom Mackenzie (@TomMackenzieTV) July 26, 2018
Here are the latest updates:
Update 8:45 a.m. EDT July 26: In a statement posted on its website, the Beijing Police Department identified the suspect by his surname, Jiang, and said he was a 26-year-old man from Tongliao city in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, according to The Associated Press.
"He was injured on the hand by the explosive device, which was made from fireworks," the AP reported, citing police.
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The circumstances leading to the bombing were not immediately clear. Authorities continue to investigate.
A U.S. Embassy spokesperson earlier said in a statement to CNN that the suspect was the only person injured in the explosion. No embassy property was damaged.
Update 3:04 a.m. EDT July 26: The Hong Kong Free Press, citing an embassy spokesperson, is reporting that "an explosive device was detonated" outside the building about 1 p.m. local time Thursday. Only the bomber was hurt, the newspaper tweeted.
UPDATE: An explosive device was detonated outside the US embassy in Beijing at around 1pm, an embassy spokesperson tells HKFP. No injuries other than the bomber. https://t.co/gA2TwqpiOA https://t.co/gA2TwqpiOA #breaking pic.twitter.com/xTZDtKRvnX
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) July 26, 2018
Police identified the suspected bomber as a "26-year-old Inner Mongolian man," the newspaper reported.
Beijing police said on its Weibo account that a 26-year-old Inner Mongolian man detonated the explosive at the intersection of Tianze Lu and Anjialou Lu at around 1pm.
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) July 26, 2018
Updates: https://t.co/gA2TwqpiOA .#breaking Photo: AFP/Greg Baker. pic.twitter.com/TcCUoD39dO
The Free Press said it wasn't yet known whether the explosion was connected to earlier reports that a woman sprayed gasoline on herself.
Update: RFA reports that eyewitnesses saw a man trying to throw a self-made explosive into the embassy.
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) July 26, 2018
Global Times reports that, at 11am, police took away a woman suspected of attempting to self-immolate outside the embassy. It is unknown whether the two incidents are related.
Update 2:32 a.m. EDT July 26: State media is reporting that police detained a woman who sprayed gasoline on herself about 11 a.m. local time Thursday, according to the AP.
Several photos and videos circulated on social media after the possible blast filled the air with clouds of smoke.
Video from Chinese social media website SinaWeibo shows smoke in area of U.S. Embassy in Beijing following reports of explosion. pic.twitter.com/8MRxmXws38
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 26, 2018
About an hour ago, an explosion occurred in front of the US Embassy in China. The current situation is still unclear. pic.twitter.com/YIZen7a1YI
— 棱镜新闻中文站PRISM Press (@PressPRISM) July 26, 2018
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