Deadly car bomb attack kills 21 at Colombian Police School

At least 21 people have been killed in a car bomb attack in the Colombian capital of Bogotá, police say.

Police said the driver rammed the vehicle into the grounds of the police academy at full speed and ignored calls to stop. The driver is presumed to have died in the blast.

"Unfortunately, the preliminary toll is 21 people dead, including the person responsible for the incident, and 68 wounded," Colombian police said in a statement, adding 58 of those injured had been discharged from the hospital. The defense ministry had previously reported 11 dead and 65 injured.

"All Colombians reject terrorism and we're united in fighting it," President Ivan Duque tweeted in the aftermath.

The car's driver, who was also killed, has been identified as a 57-year-old man. No group has said it was behind the explosion.

President Ivan Duque described it as a "crazy terrorist act" and declared three days of national mourning. The blast shattered windows of nearby apartments and houses.

One of the victims was an Ecuadorian woman, Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno said.

The vehicle was carrying 80kg (176lb) of the powerful explosive pentolite, which has been used in the past by Colombia's rebel guerrilla groups, said Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez. No group has claimed responsibility, but public prosecutor Nestor Humberto Martinez named suspect Jose Aldemar Rojas Rodriguez as the "material author of this abominable crime." Martinez said Rojas Rodriguez entered the school compound at 9:30 am (1430 GMT) driving a grey 1993 Nissan Patrol truck, but gave no details about the explosion. It should be noted that Colombia has significantly reduced bomb attacks and murders in recent years, but what has happened today shows that it is a continuing fear for citizens. President Duque, who was in the west of the country when the explosion happened, returned to the capital and visited the site. "It's an attack on society," he said. "Colombians have never yielded to terrorism, we have always defeated it. This will not be an exception."

Deadly car bomb attack kills 21 at Colombian Police School

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