Monaco's Prosecutor General has given the first detailed account of Monday night's bomb attack, confirming that the case is now being treated as a targeted attempted murder, not an act of terrorism.
The suspect remains at large, with investigators tracing his movements across the French border.
According to investigators, the suspect placed a package containing an explosive device at the entrance of the building shortly before the three victims returned home. The device exploded moments after they entered.
That detail is now central to the investigation. Authorities believe the timing suggests the attack was not random, but deliberately planned around the victims' movements.
In other words, this was not a device left to cause general chaos. Investigators are treating it as a targeted attack against specific individuals.
The Prosecutor General confirmed that, from a legal standpoint, the case is being investigated as attempted murder. Terrorism has been ruled out at this stage.
That distinction matters. Since Monday night, there has been understandable concern across Monaco after the Minister of State first described the blast as "an attack", before officials later referred to it more cautiously as a deliberate explosion.
Today's update gives the case a clearer legal direction. Investigators now believe this was a deliberate strike aimed at particular people, rather than an attack on the principality itself.
There was some relief in the latest update. The injured man is no longer in life-threatening condition, and the child’s life is not in danger. However, the woman remains in life-threatening condition and continues to require urgent medical care.
The Prosecutor General said the man believed to have been the main target of the attack has been a Monaco resident since 2021.
Authorities also confirmed that there are currently no legal proceedings against him in the principality.
Investigators are now looking into his background and the wider circumstances that may have led to the attack.
Monaco's government has not officially confirmed the identity of the man believed to be the target. Blue Coast News and other outlets have previously reported, citing a source close to the investigation, that he is Ukrainian businessman Vadim Ermolaev, a sanctioned multimillionaire who has lived in Monte Carlo since leaving Ukraine.
The fact that he has no legal proceedings against him in Monaco raises further questions about whether the motive may lie elsewhere, possibly connected to his past, his business interests, or matters outside the principality.
Investigators confirmed that the suspect fled the scene alone and on foot, heading towards Beausoleil, the French town directly across the border from Monaco.
French police are now working to retrace his route and establish exactly where he went after the explosion.
The case has quickly become a cross border investigation, with Monégasque and French authorities working closely together.
As of the latest briefing, the suspect has not been arrested.
Police on both sides of the border are continuing their search, while investigators work to identify the suspect, establish a motive and piece together the events leading up to the attack.
Blue Coast News will continue to follow this story as further official details are confirmed.