On Wednesday evening, a grenade explosion occurred in a bar in the southeastern French city of Grenoble, causing at least 12 people to be injured, with two of them in serious condition.
According to local police, the explosion took place around 8 p.m. on Wednesday at a bar located within the Olympic Village community built during the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.
Prosecutor Francois Touret-de-Courcy stated at the scene, “Someone entered the bar, threw a hand grenade, and immediately fled without a word.”
Emergency response personnel have cordoned off the area, with the police confirming that the explosion was caused by a thrown hand grenade.
Touret-de-Courcy mentioned that “many customers” were present at the time of the explosion and added that two of the injured are in critical condition. However, local official Catherine Séguin later increased the number of injured to six.
The prosecutor noted that investigators have not yet determined the motive of the perpetrator and have not ruled out any possibilities, but cannot definitively classify this as a “terrorist attack.”
He stated, “There are no indications that this event is related to terrorism,” describing it as an “act of extreme violence” possibly linked to retaliation.
Furthermore, the prosecutor mentioned that reports indicated the suspect also had a Kalashnikov assault rifle with them but did not use it during the incident.
Grenoble Mayor Eric Piolle expressed on the social media platform X, “I strongly condemn this extremely violent criminal act” and thanked the emergency services for their response.
Overall, the incident in Grenoble has sparked concerns and investigations into the motives behind the grenade explosion at the bar, with authorities working to ensure the safety of the community and identify those responsible for the attack.