A man who tried to attack Brazil’s Supreme Court in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday night is believed to have been killed by his own explosives.

Police named the man as Francisco Wanderley Luiz, who ran unsuccessfully for the council of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL).

He was found dead outside the building shortly after two explosions rocked the area. Bystanders said they saw him throw what appeared to be explosives before the detonation. No one else was injured in the incident, officials said.

The area has been cordoned off and a bomb disposal robot is being used to search the man’s body. Police say they have identified a timer possibly linked to other devices.

Brazil’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, denounced what he said was a deliberate attack and promised a full investigation into the blast.

“I strongly condemn the attacks against the Supreme Court and the lower house,” he said in a statement posted on X.

“We need to find out the motivation behind the attacks and we need to restore peace and security as quickly as possible.”

Police named the man as Francisco Wanderley Luiz. Local media reports that he is from Rio do Sul, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, where he was a councilor for the PL in 2020, but only received 98 votes.

Bolsonaro adviser Fabio Wajngarten wrote on X: “There are crazy people everywhere, from all political spectrums, supporters of all teams, all faiths and religions.”

Images released by news agencies showed the deceased man lying in an area outside the Supreme Court as officers cordoned off the area.

“The Military Police robot is searching for the body of the individual who carried out the attack and a timer has been identified and is possibly linked to other explosives,” said police spokesman Maj Raphael van der Broocke.

“Other explosives have already been identified around the body,” he added. “We must be very careful to conduct this search and, if necessary, detonate these explosives on site to prevent them from causing a chain reaction.”

Brazil’s deputy governor, Celina Leão, told reporters that the blast occurred after a man approached the entrance to the Supreme Court and failed to enter. She recommended that parliament remain closed on Thursday while investigations continue.

“It could have been a lone wolf, like others I’ve seen around the world,” she told reporters, according to the AP news agency.

“We are treating this as a suicide because there was only one victim. But investigations will show whether this was indeed the case.”

An eyewitness said he saw a man waving at them before throwing explosives into the Supreme Court justice building.

“I was at the bus stop and this guy just waved at me and didn’t say anything else,” Lavana Costa told TV Globo.

“Then I heard the noise. I looked around at the noise and saw fire and smoke. The security guards of the Supreme Court (STF) came… He had already thrown something at the statue of justice.

“When the STF security guards were approaching, he threw something again. Then it exploded and fell to the ground.”

Earlier, the Supreme Court said in a statement that the building was evacuated as a “precautionary measure” after explosions were heard. The judges had just finished hearing a plenary session and were quickly evacuated to safety, he added.

The court is located in Praça dos Três Poderes, or Three Powers Plaza, opposite the presidential office square. Local media reported that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had left the area shortly before the explosion.

The blasts come just a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit the capital, following a trip to a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Last year, the square was the scene of mass disorder after Bolsonaro’s supporters ransacked buildings days after President Lula was sworn in.