Bogota Shopping Mall Explosion Kills 3, Injures 11 In Colombia [Photos]

An explosion at the Andino shopping center, Bogota, Colombia has killed three and injured 11. The incident, which took place Saturday, 5 p.m. local time (6 p.m. EDT) has been ruled a terrorist attack by the authorities.

The source of the explosion was a device that was kept inside the toilet seat of a women’s washroom on the second floor of the shopping mall, Reuters reported.

Emergency services rushed to the scene as police rushed to set up a perimeter around the scene of the attack, evacuating the shopping center as well as the nearby buildings.

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The bomb squad arrived and they scanned the area for additional explosives. Paramedics were seen providing medical aid to the injured as ambulances raced to the venue. One of the several injured is in a critical condition.

Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa has condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly terrorist attack.” No terrorist groups have come forward to claim responsibility for the attack. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has ordered an investigation into the incident.

Penalosa has since posted a series of updates, including the names of the victims who have lost their lives in the attack.

All the victims killed, are women. One of them has been identified as Julie Huynh, 23, from France. She was working as a volunteer in a school in the south-end of Colombia for the past six months, tweeted Penalosa. The other two have been identified as Ana María Gutiérrez and Paola Jaimes Ovalle.

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A local newspaper, El Tiempo has reported that Gutiérrez and Ovalle are Colombians, citing reports from Country Clinic hospital.

The Andino shopping center is located in the heart of Bogota and authorities believe that the terrorists behind the attack might have planned to strike, Saturday because it was weekend and also, a large crowd of shoppers was expected since Father’s Day was hours away.

Images from the aftermath of the incident have flooded social media. Chaos and confusion can be seen on the faces of the people who stood outside the shopping mall, awaiting further information from the security officials. Others were seen being carried off in stretchers or nursing their wounds.

One of the top suspected terror groups, for the recent attack, is National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia second-largest insurgent organization, which claimed responsibility for a bombing near Bogota's bullring in February that killed one police officer and injured 20 others, 9news reported.

However, ELN already denied responsibility for the attack and expressed their sympathy for the civilians killed, via Twitter.

Another possible suspect is the Gulf Clan, a group of former right-wing paramilitary fighters who are now involved in drug-trafficking. Authorities have received multiple threats of attacks from the group in the past.

Bomb attacks in South America have not ceased even after Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's biggest guerrilla group, signed a peace treaty in 2016, which gave people high hopes that peace will finally be restored.