Directorate of Customs, Border Protection and National Securityof the Pacitalian RepublicThe Honourable Signore Luca Bonaccorsi, AgustinatePress Conference Transcript (Unofficial version, translated from Pacitalian)Sunday 14th January 2018, 17:00, AOTC+0300
Agustinate Bonaccorsi: "Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for coming. As you will no doubt appreciate, time and energy are of the essence right now, so I will be making a short statement and then opening the floor up for five to ten minutes of questions."
Bonaccorsi: "At approximately five minutes after three this afternoon, three timed explosions occurred in the concourse of the 21. Novembre metro railway station in central Timiocato. Although a Sunday afternoon, potentially reducing the loss of life due to the absence of commuter traffic, the station was still, as is the norm, very busy. At this time, I can confirm that all three explosions were a result of the deliberate detonation of improvised explosive devices that appear to have been concealed within sports equipment bags that were abandoned within the station. We are currently reviewing footage from security cameras to determine who left the bags and begin our search for the perpetrators in earnest."
Bonaccorsi: "I can confirm from a preliminary review of that footage that the bags were left behind or on top of vending machines or pay telephone booths in the station so as to avoid suspicion from passersby. In that first pass on the footage, we have not seen any passersby notice the abandoned bags; however, we are appealing to anyone that was inside the station in the two hours before the explosions to please contact police immediately if you witnessed or overheard anything you feel or felt was suspicious. I will be providing contact information to submit tips to police at the end of the statement."
Bonaccorsi: "As we are still trying to determine the origins of the explosives and retrace the movements of the perpetrators, we cannot confirm or deny the motives of the attackers at this time. We will, however, unequivocally and clearly state we believe these attacks to be the work of terrorists and we are concerned about further attacks at this time. As a result, we are temporarily expanding the state of emergency declared in Capitale by the Prime Minister two hours ago, to cover the entire country for at least seventy-two hours and until further notice. We ask citizens to cooperate with law enforcement as they continue their investigation and search."
Bonaccorsi: "I must also confirm, with great sadness, that the attacks resulted in multiple casualties. At this time, emergency services have reported at least one hundred and seven fatalities to my Directorate, and we believe that the number will rise as time goes on. Even with excellent care waiting for them at local hospitals, many victims are in grave condition and the outlook for them is not positive. I ask Pacitalians to hold victims and survivors, and their family and friends, in their thoughts. I also want to assure Pacitalians we are working tirelessly to see this through and we will not rest until we have located the perpetrators and brought them to justice. This act was deliberately intended to harm, to disrupt, to provoke the country, and to strike fear into our hearts and we will not abide it."
Bonaccorsi: "As I mentioned, we have set up contact points for people to report tips if, again, they saw or heard anything they feel was suspicious. Whether or not you were at the station, if you know something, you will be helping the investigation a great deal by submitting any information you may have. A universal phone hotline has been set up at 0876 77 66 55, available on fixed-line or mobile, to submit tips. Alternatively, people may visit the reporting site at
www.cr.pc/report, or email
tipi-tips@cr.pc."
Bonaccorsi: "I will now open the floor to questions."
Apostis Kyriakodonis, PBC News: "Agustinate, do investigators have any idea or theory at this point of who is to blame for the attacks?"
Bonaccorsi: "We do not wish to speculate on the culprits. I know there are many theories out there and I know people are demanding answers for what happened. It's simply too early for us to do so. We are working hard, as I said, to find out who did this. Until we are sure, we will not be party to speculation."
Latavia Marona, SNN: "Do you have any sort of evidence that lead to the speculation about terrorism or to Bello's supporters?"
Bonaccorsi: "Not at this time. We will continue to investigate all of the possibilities, but at this point it's too soon to know."
Alessandra Cammiti, Network 2: "Could you describe for us the nature of the investigation, who is involved and what roles they have in responding to the attacks?"
Bonaccorsi: "The Pacitalian Central Intelligence Commission has begun scouring sources for information. The
Constabulario Repubblicana will proceed with investigatory work on the ground while the
Gendarmerie Repubblicana will perform national guard duties, managing the cordon around the station, providing security for local residents and to preserve the investigation site, as well as enforcing any directives we make over the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours. We also have the Pacitalian Defence Forces on standby should we require their assistance, and Border Protection Special Force is on high alert at Pacitalian ports of entry to prevent flight by the perpetrators. They will all cooperate with my Directorate, which has been placed in charge of managing the investigation and recovery efforts. Lastly, I have been in contact with my colleague Pere Blanxart, the Agustinate of Health, to coordinate medical services efforts."
Cristina Fanche, Mandragora Guardian: "Several foreign governments have already issued comment on the attacks, including pledging assistance to Pacitalia. What message do you have for them?"
Bonaccorsi: "Well, of course, we wish to thank them for their generosity. It is reassuring, I think, to all Pacitalians to know that our friends and allies in the world are willing to help us and we are grateful for their offers of assistance. We have been and will be in contact with our counterparts across the world to coordinate with them and keep them apprised of the situation, including relevant intelligence-sharing."
Bonaccorsi: "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time I have for now. We will keep you up to date as more information comes in. Thank you. Thank you."