Austin ‘serial bomber’ still on the prowl! Parcel filled with ‘nails and shrapnel’ en route to Austin explodes at a FedEx site in San Antonio as FBI probe link to serial bomber
Parcel filled with ‘nails and shrapnel’ en destined for an address in Austin exploded at FedEx facility in Schertz, San Antonio, at about 12.30am on Tuesday
One female employee was taken to hospital after suffering a mild injury
The package, one of two package bombs that were found at the Schertz distribution center, detonated while moving between conveyor belts, the second box did not explode
Authorities said the bomb was mailed from Austin, and bound for Austin
FBI linked exploding device to four other attacks this month in Austin that have left two people dead and four others injured – all attributed to a yet unidentified serial bomber
Just hours after the package explosion in San Antonio, emergency crews were called to a FedEx facility in Austin following reports of a suspicious package
The first three were parcel bombs dropped off in front of Austin homes, while the fourth, on the Sunday night,allegedly was triggered on a street in Austin by a nearly invisible tripwire
President Trump has been criticized for his ‘selective silence’ over the bombings which have targeted victims from Austin’s historically black and Latino neighborhoods – authorities don’t appear closer to making any arrests in the five bombings
Police warn a ‘serial bomber’ is at large and say the devices appear to be getting more sophisticated each time
Package ‘containing nails and pieces of metal’ destined for Austin exploded injuring one person inside the FedEx facility in Schertz, San Antonio, in the early hours of Mar 20
A package ‘containing nails and pieces of metal’ destined for Austin has exploded and injured one person inside a FedEx facility in nearby San Antonio in the fifth bombing to rock the state this month. It was one of two package bombs that were found at the Schertz distribution center. The second box did not explode.
The injured employee was taken to hospital after suffering a mild injury in the explosion at the distribution center in Schertz, about 65 miles south of Austin, shortly after midnight.
Related:
Feds step in as ‘serial bomber’ explodes fourth device in Austin, injuring two – latest device more sophisticated than the previous three
The package detonated as it was moving between conveyor belt. A female staff member, who was not hit by the contents, was treated after she reported ringing in her ears.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told the media that the bomb had been mailed from Austin and was addressed to a home in Austin. A second parcel found at the San Antonio facility but it didn’t explode, according to Paxton.
Federal agents say the package is likely linked to four other attacks this month in the Texas capital city of Austin, about 80 miles north-east of San Antonio. The package bombs despatched to Austin area homes all exploded leaving two people dead and another four injured.
The bombings are the handiwork of a ‘serial bomber’ is at large and have warned that the devices appear to be getting more sophisticated, authorities warned.
Just hours after the package explosion in San Antonio, emergency crews were called to a FedEx facility in Austin following reports of a suspicious package. There were no immediate details available about that incident.
The latest blast follows a Sunday night explosion that was triggered along a street in Austin by a nearly invisible tripwire, suggesting a ‘higher level of sophistication’ than agents saw in three early package bombs left on doorsteps.
The package in San Antonio, which was destined for Austin, contained shrapnel made up of ‘nails and pieces of metal’, CBS Austin reports. About 75 people were working at the facility at the time of the explosion.
Schertz police Chief, Michael Hansen, said the intended target of the parcel bomb wasn’t the facility or anyone who lives in Schertz, which it would appear, h signals, signals that the activities of the serial bomber who focused on Austin for weeks is now random, instead of being targeted at specific individuals.
Related:
Are the Austin package bomb incidents race related? Questions asked as authorities say families of two Austin package bomb victims knew each other – All affected families are minorities
Map of bomb explosion in and around Austin, Texas, since early March, 2018
However, authorities don’t appear closer to making any arrests in the five bombings.
FBI Special Agent Michelle Lee said although it is still early in the investigation, it was likely all five bombings are related.
The latest explosion comes as President Donald Trump was criticized for his ‘selective silence’ over the Austin bombings, where most of the victims have come from the city’s historically black and Latino neighborhoods.
Unlike other attacks, such as the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida, which Trump was quick to label an act of terrorism, the president has remained silent about the Austin bombs.
![Anthony Stephan House, [left] died on March 2 and Draylen Mason, [right] 4.png](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Anthony-Stephan-House-left-died-on-March-2-and-Draylen-Mason-right-4.png?resize=620%2C315&ssl=1)
Previous victims: First was Anthony Stephan House [left] who died on March 2, followed by Draylen Mason [right], who died on March 12 after similar package bombs were left at their respective homes
The first two bombs killed black men, Anthony Stephan House, 39, who died on March 2, followed by Draylen Mason, 17, who died on March 12 after similar package bombs were left at their respective homes and investigators believed that the third, which injured a 75-year-old Latina woman, may have been intended for a black family’s home – raising the possibility they were a hate crime.
The explosion which killed Mason also was wounded after they opened a package in their kitchen.
A 75-year-old Hispanic woman named by family as Esperanza Herrera was severely injured when a package bomb exploded at her home a few hours later.
Sunday’s trip wire bomb, which injured two white men on a sidewalk, went off shortly after police made a rare public call to the suspect to make contact and explain his motives, upping reward money from $50,000 to $115,000.
Federal agents converged on the FedEx sorting center in San Antonio, after the package detonated as it was moving from one conveyor belt to another, early Tuesday
The trip wire explosion forced police to warn nearby residents to remain indoors overnight on Sunday as investigators looked for links to the three other package bombings in the city.
Police have still been unable to determine a motive for the spate of bombings, in Austin.
‘We’re clearly dealing with what we expect to be a serial bomber at this point based on the similarities,’ Austin police Chief Brian Manley said on Monday.
Manley said the previous attack, which injured the two white males, appeared ‘random’ and was triggered by a tripwire, raising the possibility the bomber has sophisticated knowledge.
Authorities haven’t identified the two men injured on Sunday, saying only that they are in their 20s.
William Grote, grandfather to one of Sunday’s victims said on the night of the bombing, one of the victims was riding a bike in the street and the other was on a sidewalk when they crossed a tripwire that he said knocked ‘them both off their feet.’
‘It was so dark they couldn’t tell and they tripped,’ he said. ‘They didn’t see it. It was a wire and it blew up.’
chief Manley warned that the trip wire ‘suggests that the suspect or suspects we are dealing with have a higher level of sophistication than we believed, as they’re changing their methods to a more difficult device’.
ATF agents with bomb sniffing partners inspect the scene of the fourth bomb explosion in Austin, TX on Sunday, Mar 18
Repeating prior warnings about not touching unexpected packages and also issued new ones to be wary of any stray object left in public, especially ones with protruding wires,
he urged any residents with surveillance cameras to contact police.
Local and state police and hundreds of federal agents are investigating, and the reward for information leading to an arrest has climbed to $115,000.
Law enforcement consultant Clint McNear told CBS the change in behavior from the serial bomber was concerning.
‘They’ve gone from targeting a specific individual to ‘I just want to kill someone’. That’s concerning,’ McNear said.
Police activity outside the home of 75-year-old Hispanic woman Esperanza Herrera who was severely injured when a bomb exploded at her home on Mar 12
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley [photo left], said they are dealing with an escalating case of serial bombing, observing that the latest attack showed a ‘higher level of skill’ than the three previous bombings
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