Man Places A Bomb Under His Head Outside Brazil's Supreme Court And Blows It Up Ahead Of The G20

A man killed himself with a bomb outside Brazil’s supreme court in Brasília after trying to enter the building on Wednesday, officials have said, stirring security concerns before the country hosts global leaders from the Group of 20 major economies.

The blasts come five days before the G20 heads of state meet in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a state visit to Brasília, the capital, by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.

The police identified the man as Francisco Wanderley Luiz, a 59-year-old locksmith from the southern state of Santa Catarina, where he had run for city council in 2020 receiving only 98 votes.

The first of two explosions went off at about 7:30 pm on Wednesday evening in a parking lot near the court building and a second blast came seconds later in front of the court, where Luiz’s body was found. The federal district vice-governor, Celina Leão, said preliminary information suggested he had killed himself after trying to enter the supreme court.

Security camera footage released by the TV network GloboNews showed a man walking up to a statue in the courtyard in front of the court and throw an object at the statue. He is then approached by a guard. The man then steps back, lights a device, and throws it towards the court building, but it does not appear to explode. He lights another one and throws it, resulting in an explosion under the building’s awning. The man then kneels, lights a third device, lies down, places the bomb under his head, and it detonates.