A deadly grenade attack rocked Colombia’s capital late Wednesday, leaving three people dead and nine others wounded, according to Bogota’s mayor, Carlos Fernando Galan.
The incident occurred in the San Bernardo neighbourhood, an area already troubled by gang violence, and came just weeks after a similar attack in the same location.
In a statement shared on the social media platform X shortly before midnight (0500 GMT Thursday), Galan confirmed the attack, “Tonight, a new explosive device was thrown into a crowd of people… unfortunately leaving three dead and at least nine wounded.”
The mayor linked the violence to ongoing police crackdowns on criminal organizations operating in the neighborhood.
“This new attack, like previous ones in the same area, is a reaction of criminal gangs seeking to survive the sustained siege of the Bogota police on their structures in the San Bernardo neighborhood,” he explained.
In response, he directed law enforcement to “intensify pressure” on these groups and to “capture their leaders.”
Bogota police commander, Giovanni Cristancho, confirmed that the explosion was the result of an ongoing territorial conflict.
“Two local organized criminal groups” are locked in a battle for control of the area, he told reporters near the scene.
Once known for its furniture-making industry, San Bernardo has in recent years become a hotspot for drug trafficking and consumption, attracting many unhoused individuals and substance users.
The attack follows another grenade explosion in the neighborhood just three weeks ago, which killed one homeless person and injured seven others.
