Committee head: Ideological motive unlikely behind weekend Budapest blast

Budapest, September 26 (MTI) – According to information available so far it can almost certainly be ruled out that the shrapnel bomb attack in central Budapest on the weekend was ideologically motivated, with no evidence pointing to a jihadist motive, Zsolt Molnár, the head of parliament’s national security committee, said on Monday.

The committee was convened to hold a joint session with the defence and law enforcement committee to hear reports about the bomb attack carried out at a ground-level shop near the Grand Boulevard on Saturday at 10.36 pm.

In the attack two police officers conducting a regular patrol were injured. One of them, a 23-year-old woman, was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries. The other officer, a 26-year-old man, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Both are in stable condition, but in intensive care, the national police chief said on Sunday.

A homemade shrapnel bomb was used in the explosion, Károly Papp told a press conference. Police are looking for a suspect aged 20-25 and 170 centimetres in height, who was wearing a light-coloured fishing cap, a dark canvas jacket, blue jeans and white trainers, he said, adding that there is a 10 million forint (EUR 32,600) reward for providing useful information on the suspect.

Molnár told a press conference that evidence gathered so far points to an act targeting the two police officers or Hungary’s police force as a whole, adding, however, that there is still little to know for certain about the exact motive behind it.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI