Romania’s Palace of Parliament mulls extra security filters after fire incident

The president of Romania’s lower legislative chamber, Daniel Suciu, recently proposed extra security checks at the entrance to the Palace of the Parliament. His statements come after a man set fire to a store in the tourist area of the building, which is situated before the existing security filters.

Between 200,000 and 240,000 people visit the Palace of Parliament every year, making it one of Bucharest's most popular tourist landmarks.

The building's area where the fire started was not covered by the existing security measures.

"That area is somewhat of a waiting zone, before visitors purchase entrance tickets and wait for the guides to take them through the security filter. The filters and security scanners are located a few meters from that spot," Suciu explained, cited by Digi24.

"We are considering - and I want to consult with the Directorate of Internal Affairs - whether it is necessary to have an additional security filter or scanner right at the entrance to Parliament. This incident happened because it occurred before the security filter," Suciu said.

Around 300 people were evacuated following the security incident on Tuesday, September 17, while the man who set the fire managed to escape. Law enforcement identified him after several hours and eventually found him.

The main suspect is reportedly from Vaslui and was staying in a hotel in Bucharest. According to a Police spokesman quoted by Digi24, the man said he did not intend to injure anyone, but wanted "to cause damage to a fundamental institution of the Romanian state." He was detained for 24 hours.

(Photo source: Calin Stan | Dreamstime.com)