PARIS, March 28 – Authorities in France have detained a suspect who tried to detonate a homemade explosive device outside Bank of America offices in downtown Paris, according to French publication Le Parisien, which cited law enforcement sources.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor has launched an investigation into the incident, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Saturday on social media. The case has been assigned to Paris police investigators and France’s domestic intelligence service, the DGSI, according to Nunez.
“Well done to the rapid response team from the (Paris) police authority, whose actions thwarted a violent terrorist attack in Paris last night,” Nunez stated.
“Vigilance remains at a higher level than ever. I congratulate all the security and intelligence forces, who are fully mobilised under my authority in the current international context.”
Paris police officials refused to provide comment on the matter. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has not yet responded to requests for information.
“We are aware of the situation and are communicating with the authorities,” a Bank of America representative stated to Reuters.
Law enforcement apprehended the individual at approximately 3:25 a.m. local time in Paris’s 8th district while he attempted to ignite the explosive device, Le Parisien reported. Officers took him into custody, though a second person who was at the scene escaped and has not been captured, according to the publication.
The improvised explosive contained a five-liter container with an unknown liquid and an explosive component made from roughly 650 grams of powder, the French newspaper stated. Authorities secured the device and transferred it to forensic specialists at the Paris police laboratory for analysis, according to the report.
