Three women, including a French citizen, were killed in an explosion in the Andino shopping mall, located in the rich area of the Colombian capital of Bogota. The mayor of the city called the incident "a Terrorist Attack," Reuters reported.
According to local media and witnesses, the explosion occurred on the second floor of the mall inside the women's restroom. Bogotá Mayor Enrique Penalosa wrote on Twitter that as a result of the "terrorist attack" one woman was killed and 11 people were injured. Later, the death toll was increased to three.
Three women killed
The mayor told reporters that one of the dead was a 23-year-old Frenchwoman. She worked in colombia as a volunteer. Two more women died in the hospital, the BBC reported. One of them was 27, the other 31, the police and fire department clarified.
#bomb #blast at #mall in #Colombia #capital #bogota #kills 3 , #injures 11 pic.twitter.com/3pezuEPuPQ
— Rohan Chauhan (@RohanChauhanBJP) June 18, 2017
After the bomb blast, all the streets surrounding the Shopping Mall were closed and security officials tried to figure out who was responsible for the explosion.The bomb squad investigated the mall for additional information about the devices.
Images on social media showed a woman slumped in a pool of blood against the wall and a piece of metal pierced into her back.
There was another woman with a badly damaged knee.
Colombian President denounced the attack
The explosion occurred in one of the busiest shopping centers in the high-end area of the capital. Shoppers were out and about buying gifts for Father's Day on Sunday.
President Juan Manuel Santos condemned the attack and instructed the head of the national police to monitor the investigation.
He promised to bring the perpetrators to justice and denounced the attack. "We won't let terrorism frighten us," the president at the shopping mall.
The National Liberation Army, the second largest armed insurgent group, condemned the attack. During the past decade, Bogota has witnessed a significant improvement in the security situation, after authorities engaged in a dialogue with insurgents who for half a century waged a guerrilla war in Colombia. Security at large malls is not as strict as it used to be due to the lower levels of violence in the country in recent years.
In November last year, the Government of Colombia and the rebels of the left-wing group FARC signed a new peace agreement in Havana. A previous agreement did not come to fruition, as the citizens of the country voted against its adoption in a referendum.
