Blast injures three in Monaco residence, police hunt suspect

A blast from an explosive device injured three people at the entryway of a residential building near Monaco’s French border, and the suspect fled on foot into France after leaving a bag or package in the lobby. The explosion struck around 9 p.m. local time on Monday, June 29, 2026, on Rue du Révérend Père Louis Frolla, near Boulevard d’Italie.

Two adults were reported in life-threatening condition, while the third victim, a teenager, was less seriously hurt. Authorities said the device appeared to contain bolts and buckshot, a sign of a makeshift bomb built to maim anyone nearby rather than to damage property alone. The motive remained unknown.

The manhunt quickly became a cross-border police operation. Monaco and French authorities identified the suspect through video surveillance from Monaco and the neighboring French town of Beausoleil, then followed the trail into France after the suspect crossed the border on foot. The Monaco public prosecutor’s office said the suspect had left a bag or package in the building’s lobby before walking away, a detail that has sharpened questions about how closely the entry point and nearby surveillance coverage were monitored.

One of the wounded was identified as Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian construction tycoon who was sanctioned by Ukraine in December 2023 over alleged ties to Russia and business activity in Russian-occupied Crimea. French and Ukrainian media identified him among the injured, but authorities have not said whether he was the intended target.

Prince Albert II called the blast “an odious act” and said all state services were mobilized to protect security. Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s Minister of State, said he believed it was the first such act in the principality’s history, a striking statement in a place better known for luxury residences, billionaires and yachts than for attacks of this kind. For Monaco, the case now tests how fast a small state can work with French police when a suspect can vanish across the border in minutes.