Update: Man Sets Off Explosive Device Outside U.S. Embassy in Beijing

A man set off an explosive device outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing at about 1 p.m. Thursday, an embassy spokesperson said.

Beijing police confirmed the incident, saying a 26-year-old man from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region set off the device at an intersection near the embassy.

“Other than the bomber, there were no injuries,” the embassy spokesperson said.

Beijing police said in a statement late Thursday that the suspect, surnamed Jiang, set off a “firecracker-like” device. Police found remnants of firecrackers and a lighter at the scene.

Citing Jiang’s family and hospital records, police said that Jiang has had hallucinations since 2016 and was diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder. He has had psychotherapy, police said.

Police said they will continue investigating the incident.

Videos and photos began circulating on social media soon after the blast, showing smoke, chaos and what appeared to be police responding to the scene.

The outside of the embassy is often busy with Chinese citizens lined up waiting to enter the facility to get visa services.

A flight-ticket agent near the scene told Caixin that she heard a blast and saw a man with an injured hand fall outside the embassy gate. Police took away the man, the agent said.

Other witnesses also told Caixin that they heard the blast and saw heavy dust afterward. Police closed off the street near the embassy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a routine news briefing Thursday that the explosion was an “isolated public-security incident.”

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)