Investigators suspect explosive device Father of family in Geneva injured by exploding garbage bag

A man was injured when a garbage bag exploded in a residential building in Geneva. It was initially unclear whether it was an attack. The Attorney General of Geneva is assuming criminal intent. The Office of the Attorney General has opened an investigation.

Keystone-SDA

20.08.2024, 19:31

SDA

The 43-year-old man was injured in one leg on Tuesday morning when he picked up a garbage bag that had been left on the landing of his apartment in the Saint-Jean district of Geneva. When he lifted the bag, it exploded. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning shortly before 7.30 a.m., as the Geneva public prosecutor's office confirmed various media reports at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The building was evacuated and a security perimeter was set up, it added. This was to ensure that there were no further bags or suspicious objects in the building. The lockdown was lifted again in the afternoon. The residents were then able to return to the building.

Attorney General of Geneva sees criminal intent

Specialists from the Zurich Forensic Institute were expected on site to determine the cause of the explosion. The investigation initiated by the Geneva judiciary was taken over by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), in collaboration with the various cantonal police forces and with the support of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol). Due to the ongoing investigations, no further information will be released, the OAG announced.

A liquid leaked from the possibly prepared waste bag. This could indicate a small homemade bomb that was hidden in the bag and triggered by a mechanism. "The evidence at the scene clearly shows that it was an explosive device placed outside the front door. That means: criminal intent," Olivier Jornot, Attorney General of Geneva, told RTS television.

The victim of the explosion is apparently a family man with no criminal record. The man is not known to the judiciary or the police, according to the Geneva public prosecutor's office. His wife and two children were in the apartment when the explosion occurred. They remained unharmed.