BOGOTA (Reuters) - An explosion near Bogota’s bullring injured at least 26 people, most of them police officers as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in Colombia’s capital on Sunday, the police said, but no one was killed.

Earlier, the police said one of its officers had been killed in the blast.

Details of the cause of the blast were not immediately available, but media images showed a police officer in a shredded uniform walking with support from his colleagues, as well as debris in the road, broken glass and damage to apartment buildings close by.

“The national police rejects and condemns these acts of barbarism that affect the integrity of our police and other citizens, as well as the tranquility and coexistence of the country’s capital,” the police said in statement.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered weekly to demonstrate against bullfighting in Bogota, which resumed last month for the first time in four years.

The ban was lifted by the constitutional court which said it was part of the national heritage, prompting weekly clashes with police.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bogota explosion: Footage shows police clean-up

Dozens of people have been injured in an explosion in the Colombian capital Bogota, the mayor's office has said.

The explosion happened near the bullring, where animal rights activists were preparing to hold a march.

Bogota authorities said at least 40 people were injured, including 28 men and 12 women. Many are believed to be officers deployed ahead of the protest.

It is unclear if the blast was linked to the protests, which began after the city reinstated bullfighting this year.

Gareth Lewis, a British traveller staying in a hostel in La Macarena, on the corner where the explosion took place, told the BBC: "I was sitting in my room in the hostel, the windows just came in, there was glass everywhere.

"Quite a few police have been hurt, they're now sweeping up. They used tear gas and there's quite a bit of blood."

Image copyright EPA Image caption It happened as police prepared for protests in the city

Mr Lewis, who has been advised to stay inside the hostel by officers, said he had witnessed protests "all week" and that "armed police have been everywhere".

The protests began after a decision by the constitutional court, which ruled bullfighting was part of the country's heritage and therefore could be reinstated.

The move angered animal rights activists, who have clashed with police during protests against the reopening.

In January, demonstrators were arrested and officers fired tear gas to control groups physically attacking spectators.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Two people were left with serious injuries after the explosion, which shattered nearby windows

But the explosion was not necessarily linked to the protests.

Jorge Restrepo, director of Colombia's Conflict Analysis Resource Center (Cerac), said the attack may have been targeting the police, taking advantage of the fact that many officers were gathered together due to the bullfight.

He told the BBC it was possibly linked to a series of attacks against security forces in the capital that have taken place in recent months.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa vowed to capture the people behind the explosion

Meanwhile, Bogota mayor Enrique Penalosa, who attended the scene, has announced he was convening a security council meeting for Sunday afternoon.

"The terrorists won't intimidate us," Mr Penalosa said on Twitter. "We are going to do all that's necessary to capture them."

He earlier tweeted one police officer had been killed, but has since removed the post. It has now been reported there were no fatalities.

Two of the injured were said to be in a serious condition.</s></s>A police officer was killed and 30 other people were injured during a blast in Colombia's capital on Sunday before a bullfighting event where protests had been expected, authorities and local media reported.

Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa described the explosion as a "criminal terrorist attack" and vowed to capture those behind it, although no additional details were immediately provided.

The blast comes amid ongoing — and sometimes violent — protests over bullfighting in Bogotá. The sport was outlawed in 2012, but three years later the country's highest court ended the ban, calling bullfighting a cultural heritage.

The sport resumed last month to large protests and a police response that included pepper spray and tear gas, The Guardian reported.

A witness told NBC News that Sunday's blast, in the city's Macarena neighborhood, was strong enough to shatter glass on the 17th floor of a building across the street.

Reuters reported that most of the injured were police officers. In a Twitter post from a hospital, Peñalosa said four of them lost an eye.</s>A terrifying explosion near a bullring in Colombia killed one and injured at least 30 people.

Most of the victims were police officers, hit by the blast as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in the capital, Bogota, on Sunday.

According to the mayor's office, police are now ' pursuing terrorists '.

Details of the cause of the blast were not immediately available, but media images showed a police officer in a shredded uniform walking with support from his colleagues, as well as debris in the road, broken glass and damage to apartment buildings close by.

Another person was gravely injured, the mayor's office said on its Twitter account.

"It was horrible. We were a half block away and it was tremendous. The apartment on the second floor shook," said witness Cecilia Gomez

Bogota's mayor, Enrique Penalosa, said the police would go after the perpetrators.

"It is a message to reject terrorism. We are going to pursue terrorism, we are going to do everything we can to capture them.

"I can tell you that we have the whole sector of La Macarena [sector where the blast occurred] secured.

"In a few minutes we are going to make way. We have people who are injured," he said.

After the attack, hundreds of residents gathered at La Santamaria plaza for a minute of silence.

Protesters have gathered weekly to demonstrate against bullfighting in Bogota, which resumed last month for the first time in four years.

The ban was lifted by the constitutional court which said it was part of the national heritage, prompting weekly clashes with police.</s>A police officer was killed and 30 other people were injured in a blast in Colombia’s capital on Sunday before a bullfighting event where protests had been expected, authorities and local media reported.

Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa described the explosion as a “criminal terrorist attack” aimed at police and vowed to capture those behind it, although no additional details were immediately provided.

Twenty-six of the wounded were officers, the district secretary for Security, Coexistence and Justice said in a statement. In a Twitter post from a hospital, Peñalosa said four of them lost an eye.</s>The explosion was the second in Colombia's capital in as many days.

At least one person is dead and about 30 injured, most of them police officers, in an explosion Sunday near the Plaza de Toros in central Bogota, Colombia, as police prepared for an anti-bullfighting protest.

Reuters reported most of the victims were police officers but el Tiempo reported the 29 injured included 10 soldiers and 19 others, most of them foreigners in a nearby restaurant. Images showed an officer in a shredded uniform being helped by colleagues along a road littered with debris near La Santamaria bullring. Nearby apartment buildings were damaged.

Protesters have been gathering weekly to protest bullfighting, which resumed in Bogota last month for the first time in four years after the constitutional court lifted a ban that had been in effect since 2012. Sunday’s bullfight was to be the last of the season. Bogota Police Cmdr. Hoover Penilla said the event would go on as scheduled.

TeleSur said explosives-sniffing dogs were dispatched to the area, which has been cordoned off, to determine whether any other devices had been planted. Noticias said the type of explosive used in the 10:36 a.m. blast had yet to be determined.

Firefighters, along with health officials and the Red Cross, were at the scene. Streets in the area have been closed.

Sunday’s explosion followed a blast Saturday in a restaurant in Bogota. One person was injured in that incident.

Anti-bullfighting activists, who argue the spectacle is a brutal blood sport, have been clashing with police in recent weeks.

Bullfighting originated in Spain but is also practiced in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, parts of southern France and Portugal. The website stopbullfighting.com says bulls are abused for two days before they get into the ring with a matador, who is aided by men on horseback, armed with picas that are used to cut into the animal’s neck to weaken it before the matador moves in for the kill.
• Bloody End Near For Two Spanish Traditions?</s>Authorities search for evidence Sunday at the site of an explosion in Bogota, Colombia. Arwa Gunja

The blast comes amid ongoing — and sometimes violent — protests over bullfighting in Bogotá. The sport was outlawed in 2012, but three years later the country’s highest court ended the ban, calling bullfighting a cultural heritage.

The sport resumed last month to large protests and a police response that included pepper spray and tear gas,

A witness told NBC News that Sunday’s blast, in the city’s Macarena neighborhood, was strong enough to shatter glass on the 17th floor of a building across the street.

Reuters reported that most of the injured were police officers. In a Twitter post from a hospital, Peñalosa said four of them lost an eye.</s>An explosion Sunday near the Santamaria bullfighting ring in downtown Bogota, Colombia, injured at least 31 people, many of them policemen, according to reports.

Two of the 31 were seriously injured, Mayor Enrique Peñalosa tweeted. At least 10 police officers were hurt, according to the Bogota police press office.

A dozen suspects were taken into custody, the press office said.

“The terrorists won’t intimidate us. And we’re going to do everything necessary to capture them,” Peñalosa said in another tweet.

Footage aired by Medellin-based Cable Noticias showed dozens of police in fluorescent yellow jackets converging at the base of a highrise near the plaza, blocking off streets and directing pedestrians away from the scene.

The stadium is located in the La Macarena neighborhood of the Colombian capital.

It was not clear who was behind Sunday’s blast.

Bullfighting has long been a contentious issue in Colombia. On one side are Colombians who say the events are art, part of the country’s culture and tradition. Opponents call it animal abuse, and say they want the city-owned bullring to be converted into a space for cultural and educational events.

In 2012, then-Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro essentially banned bullfighting by suspending the city’s contract with the Bullfighting Corporation of Bogota. But the constitutional court overturned Petro’s decision, siding with those who say bullfighting is a form of artistic expression.

Bullfights are held on Sundays in January and February in Colombia.

Bogota held its first bullfight in four years in January, and hundreds of protesters converged on the Santamaria bullring, with various media reporting the demonstrators hurled obscenities, spit at attendees and called them “torturers.” Riot police had to intervene.

Peñalosa has said he opposes bullfighting but is bound by the constitutional court’s decision to allow it. After the explosion, he tweeted that the area was secure and it was safe to attend the event.

According to Humane Society International, about 250,000 bulls are killed during these events annually. Colombia is one of eight countries — joining Spain, France, Portugal, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador — where bullfighting is legal, the organization reports.

A change.org petition aimed at persuading the constitutional court to overturn its ruling and end bullfighting in Colombia garnered almost 52,000 signatures.</s>BOGOTA: An explosion near Bogota's bullring killed one and injured at least 30 people, most of them police officers as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in Colombia's capital on Sunday, the mayor's office said.

Details of the cause of the blast were not immediately available, but media images showed a police officer in a shredded uniform walking with support from his colleagues, as well as debris in the road, broken glass and damage to apartment buildings close by.

Another person was gravely injured, the mayor's office said on its Twitter account.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered weekly to demonstrate against bullfighting in Bogota, which resumed last month for the first time in four years.

The ban was lifted by the constitutional court which said it was part of the national heritage, prompting weekly clashes with police.
An explosion kills one and injures at least 30 people, mostly police officers preparing for the weekly anti-bullfighting protests in Bogotá, Colombia. Bullfighting resumed last month after a four-year lull, per a Supreme Court order. Responsibility has not been determined.