Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images(BEIJING) — An explosion near the US embassy in Beijing appears to have injured only the alleged bomber, officials said.
The incident occurred around 1 p.m. local time in a public space off the southeast corner of the compound, according to a statement from a spokesperson at the U.S. embassy.
“There was one individual who detonated a bomb,” the spokesperson said. “Other than the bomber, there were no injuries. The local police responded.”
A 26-year-old man from Inner Mongolia detonated what authorities are calling “a firecracker device,” the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau wrote on its official Weibo account.
The suspect was identified as having the last name Jiang. He’s being treated at a local hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, authorities said.
The U.S. embassy building was not damaged, the spokesperson said.
A woman selling maps outside the embassy told ABC News that she saw the man detonate the bomb.
“I was really scared and ran away,” said Liu, who only provided her last name.
A young man who asked to be identified only as Li said he was waiting outside the embassy for a visa interview when he heard the explosion. He said it “sounded like muffled fireworks” and that his ears were buzzing afterward. He thought a tire had exploded.
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