Monaco’s Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, held a press conference late on Monday evening alongside Interior Minister Lionel Beffre and National Council President Thomas Brezzo, following the explosion that struck a residential building near Place des Moulins, leaving three people injured and a suspect still at large.

Briefing journalists, Mirmand confirmed that a “violent detonation linked to a parcel bomb” had been heard shortly before 9pm not far from Place des Moulins. He said the area had been rapidly cordoned off by security forces, with three people injured, two adults and a child, transported to hospital facilities in Nice, while two further people were treated for shock and two others with minor injuries presented themselves at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre.

Mirmand told reporters that a suspect had been identified via the Principality’s video surveillance system fleeing towards the French commune of Beausoleil, and that access to Monaco had been immediately secured. He confirmed the General Prosecutor had been notified and a judicial investigation opened, with forensic police carrying out evidence collection late into the night. Officials at the briefing said 50 firefighters had been mobilised, 40 Monégasque and 10 French, alongside 12 vehicles and 84 police officers, and that the building’s six unoccupied apartments had been secured as a precaution.

Victims “presumed to have been targeted”

Addressing reporters directly, Mirmand said investigators believed the victims may have been deliberately targeted. “We can presume that the victims were targeted. The investigation will confirm this,” he said. He told the press conference that the three victims had been in the building’s entrance hall at the moment the device exploded, and that they are believed to belong to the same family. Mirmand said the victims appear to have lived in the building and were returning home at the time of the attack, and confirmed the building had since been secured, with bomb disposal teams given priority access. No occupants, he added, were present inside at the time.

Mirmand did not disclose the victims’ identities during the briefing, though he said intelligence services were working to establish their background and to determine whether others might be facing similar threats.

The victims have been widely reported to be Ukrainian businessman Vadim Ermolaev, who has been under sanction from Kyiv since December 2023, reportedly in connection with alcohol business activities in Russian-occupied Crimea, along with his wife and teenage son. This identification was not confirmed at Monday’s press conference.

Mirmand told reporters he was advising residents of the Principality to remain at home overnight, with Sûreté Publique officers continuing to secure the surrounding streets. “We hope the investigation will establish a legal qualification of the facts as quickly as possible. I leave it to the General Prosecutor to qualify them,” he said. “This event must be treated with the seriousness it deserves, and with the resources available to us in the Principality, to reassure the Monégasque people.”

Suspect still being sought

Asked about the ongoing manhunt, Mirmand told the press conference that an individual was still being sought as of Monday evening. He said witnesses had come forward with information that, combined with video surveillance footage, had helped identify a man who may match the suspect’s description. He confirmed the Nice public prosecutor’s office had also opened its own investigation, working in parallel with Monégasque authorities. “We hope to identify the perpetrator and apprehend him quickly,” he said.

Mirmand told reporters that further forensic evidence collection would take place, and that the surrounding neighbourhood would remain cordoned off for as long as necessary in order to determine the nature of the explosive device and assess structural damage to the building.

Mirmand confirmed that Monaco’s General Prosecutor, Stéphane Thibault, would provide the first detailed findings of the investigation on Tuesday and formally qualify the nature of the offence.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

See also: 

Monaco bombing: Prince Albert II releases statement as victims named among Ukraine’s wealthiest

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Photo from left to right: National Council President Thomas Brezzo, Interior Minister Lionel Beffre and Minister of State Christophe Mirmand