Smoke and confusion after explosion outside U.S. Embassy in Beijing

Society & Culture
Anthony Tao

An explosion was reported outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing this afternoon, with witnesses describing smoke wafting from the main gate of the embassy, located near Liangmaqiao in Chaoyang District.

Ping’an Beijing 平安北京, the official Sina Weibo account of Beijing’s Public Security Bureau, posted a message about 30 minutes ago (at 2:52 pm) saying the explosion was caused by a “firecracker device,” and that police have detained a 26-year-old man surnamed Jiang from Inner Mongolia.

“There was an explosion at approximately 1 p.m. today in the public space off the South East corner of the Embassy compound,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson told NBC. “According to the Embassy’s Regional Security Officer, there was one individual who detonated a bomb. Other than the bomber, there were no injuries. The local police responded.”

One source close to the scene says that the man tried to throw an explosive over the embassy’s fence, but failed and injured himself in the process.

The incident happened near the intersection of Tianze Road (天泽路) and Anjialou Road (安家楼路).

We first learned about the explosion from social media just after 1 pm. Lots of videos and images from the immediate aftermath have since between posted.

https://twitter.com/jimmyzhong_iost/status/1022355158590607360

Global Times reports there was a self-immolation attempt earlier in the day. In a tweet, it said one witness “says police took away a woman spraying gasoline on herself in suspected attempt at self-immolation outside US embassy in Beijing around 11 am Thursday,” but immediately clarified in another tweet that “it is not proved yet the incident is related to an alleged explosion around the US embassy in Beijing later” (since there is a two-hour time difference between the events).

More updates as they become available.

UPDATE:

UPDATE 2:

https://twitter.com/rebeccaludavis/status/1022402175849250816

Anthony is the managing editor of The China Project. He is based in Beijing, where he publishes poems on his Substack Poetry From Beijing. Follow him @anthonytao Read more

Website
Instagram
Twitter

Suggested for you

The China Agenda

The China Agenda for October 30–November 5: Xiangshan Forum

Arran Hope
Politics & Current Affairs

Failed suicide bombing in Pakistan sends more chills down Beijing’s spine

Nadya Yeh

This Land Is Not Your Land

Yangyang Cheng

China faces college admissions scandal after identity theft cases reported in Shandong

Jenny Feng

China accuses India of ‘vile’ acts on border

Lucas Niewenhuis

‘The Chinese leadership has miscalculated’: Deepa Ollapally on the India-China border conflict

Lucas Niewenhuis