A man reportedly killed his ex-partner and himself with a grenade in a house explosion in Bristol. Police responded to a domestic-related incident on Sunday, May 3, at an address on Sterncourt Road, moments before an explosion was heard at approximately 6:30 a.m.
A bomb disposal unit was deployed, and authorities confirmed the incident is not being treated as a suspected terrorism case, according to Mail Online.
Three other individuals, believed to be the woman's son and two other family members, were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
On Sunday, officers searched another property linked to the man, located three miles away in Speedwell.
Neighbors reported that the woman had recently moved into the terraced house to escape her ex-partner. Wayne Smith, 58, told The Sun: 'He's turned up at her house with a grenade and detonated it on the doorstep and killed the pair of them.' He added: 'At first, when I heard the boom, I thought it was a gas explosion or even a huge car crash. I could feel the whole house shake.'
Superintendent Matt Ebbs told reporters in a press conference on Sunday afternoon: 'At about 6:17 a.m., we received a call to attend a domestic-related incident at a residential address in Sterncourt Road. Officers were sent to the scene but shortly before they arrived, at just after 6:30 a.m., there was an explosion inside the property. A woman and a man have died at the address, and we're treating the explosion as suspicious. Their families have been updated and are being supported by specially trained officers, and our thoughts are very much with them. Three people, a man, a woman and a child, were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.'
Approximately 70 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to the nearby Snuff Mill Harvester pub, which is being used as a makeshift rest center.
One neighbor said they had heard a 'loud bang' at around 6:30 a.m. and went outside, but was told by armed police to 'get inside.' They said: 'There were two or three unmarked police cars and a number of ambulances and police vehicles, and now the bomb squad is there.'
