BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A strong explosion rocked one of the busiest shopping centers in Colombia’s capital on Saturday, killing three people and injuring nine others, the authorities there said.

Mayor Enrique Peñalosa of Bogotá condemned what he called a “cowardly terrorist bombing” at the upscale Centro Andino, a shopping center located in the heart of the city’s tourist district.

Witnesses were evacuated from movie theaters and stores after the blast, which they said had occurred in a second-floor bathroom. Ambulances and fire trucks responded to the scene, and the injured were taken to a hospital.

Mayor Peñalosa said one of the victims, a 23-year-old Frenchwoman, had been volunteering in a poor neighborhood in Colombia for the past six months, and was preparing to return to France.