Major police operation in progress at Petite-Boissière, this Monday afternoon, in the Grange-Canal sector, in Geneva. An incident occurred at 4:15 p.m. in building number 36 and left one person injured. The victim is a young girl. She was taken by ambulance. The area was cordoned off. The police are mobilized.
According to our information, the hypothesis of a parcel bomb is being studied. The robot from the EOD detachment (Neutralization, removal, detection of explosive devices) intervened on site. These circumstances are reminiscent of those of the explosion of a garbage bag in a building that occurred in Saint-Jean on August 20.
According to several testimonies, the police ask residents not to touch the mailboxes. Several witnesses claim to have heard a loud explosion and assure that the window at the entrance to the building exploded. The residents who had gone out cannot return home, “while we secure the paths,” says a police officer. As for those who were at home, they are asked to stay at home. A prosecutor is on the scene.
At 5:40 p.m., the police were touring the floors reporting a possible evacuation of the building adjacent to number 36. At 6:15 p.m., the evacuation was in progress via the basement of the building. The inhabitants are taken and welcomed at the Le Corbusier school. Mailboxes were checked and opened.
It seems likely that this affair is linked to that of Saint-Jean. Indeed, in the Petite-Boissière building lives a man working for a local watch factory. It seems that it was his mailbox that exploded. However, this summer in Saint-Jean, the father injured by the explosion of a garbage bag placed in front of his home was employed in the same company. The police were then very interested in this professional trail: in the past, this company had received parcel bombs accompanied by threats such as: “Next time, we will attack the employees.”
Another element: as in Saint-Jean, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Confederation is already in the loop. Its spokesperson, Matteo Cremaschi, said: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Confederation (MPC) has been informed of the incident that occurred this afternoon at Petite-Boissière in Geneva. The MPC is in close contact with the Geneva cantonal authorities. Clarifications are currently underway and no further information will be given at this time.”
