Bombs in Austin?

ABC News wrote:2nd explosion rocks Austin hours after blast at a home kills a teen, injures a woman
By MEGHAN KENEALLY JOSH MARGOLIN Mar 12, 2018, 2:17 PM ET

A second explosion rocked Austin, Texas, hours after an earlier blast, which was apparently caused by a package left on a porch, killed a teen and injured a woman.

The first blast, reported about 6:44 a.m., killed a male teenager and injured a woman in her 40s. The second explosion today injured another woman, with authorities evaluating whether a second person was also hurt, according to the Austin Police Department.

Investigators said earlier that first blast today may be connected to a March 2 blast in Austin because of the composition of the explosive device used. The police chief declined to discuss the construction of the explosive device or what specific elements make it look similar to the earlier one.

The explosion "is very similar to the incident that occurred in Austin back on March 2, and if you’ll remember, that incident also occurred in the morning hours when the victim, in that case, went out front and found a package on their front steps that exploded causing that individual’s death," police chief Brian Manley said at a news conference Monday.

The first explosion today occurred at a single-family house in the northeast section of the city and appears to have been caused by a package that had been placed on the porch of a home rather than delivered by a mail service, police said. Police believe the explosion happened after residents took the package inside to open it.

"What we understand at this point is that earlier this morning, residents went out front, and there was a package on the front doorstep. They brought that package inside the residence and as they opened that package, both victims were in the kitchen and the package exploded causing the injuries that resulted in the young man’s death and the injuries to the adult female," Manley said today.

Authorities have warned residents that if they receive a package they are not expecting, they should contact the Austin Police Department.

The FBI told ABC News that it was responding to the first reported explosion and assisting Austin police, who are the lead agency handling the situation.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has sent staff from both its national response team and reinforcements to bolster local field resources. The national response team is the entity that goes in to major incidents to investigate complex fires and explosions – most recently the church fires in the south and the Oakland warehouse catastrophe.

An explosion earlier this month
Today's blasts follow the explosion on March 2, which police received a call about at 6:55 a.m. that day.

The victim in that explosion, Anthony Stephan House, died from his injuries after being transported to a local hospital.

"That case was being investigated as a suspicious death," Manley said today. "It is now being reclassified and is now a homicide investigation as well. We are looking at these incidents as being related based on similarities that we have seen and the initial evidence that we have on hand here today compared to what we found on the scene of that explosion that took place a week back."

Manley noted that "we don't know the motive behind these" events though he said that all three of the homes involved in blasts today and on March 2 blast had African-American residents.

"We can not rule [out] that hate crime is at the core of this, but we’re not saying that’s the cause as well," he said.

Today's blasts come at a particularly busy time for Austin, as the city hosts the annual SXSW music, film and technology conference from March 13 until March 18.

ABC News' Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

Original Quill wrote:

ABC News wrote:2nd explosion rocks Austin hours after blast at a home kills a teen, injures a woman
By MEGHAN KENEALLY JOSH MARGOLIN Mar 12, 2018, 2:17 PM ET

A second explosion rocked Austin, Texas, hours after an earlier blast, which was apparently caused by a package left on a porch, killed a teen and injured a woman.

The first blast, reported about 6:44 a.m., killed a male teenager and injured a woman in her 40s. The second explosion today injured another woman, with authorities evaluating whether a second person was also hurt, according to the Austin Police Department.

Investigators said earlier that first blast today may be connected to a March 2 blast in Austin because of the composition of the explosive device used. The police chief declined to discuss the construction of the explosive device or what specific elements make it look similar to the earlier one.

The explosion "is very similar to the incident that occurred in Austin back on March 2, and if you’ll remember, that incident also occurred in the morning hours when the victim, in that case, went out front and found a package on their front steps that exploded causing that individual’s death," police chief Brian Manley said at a news conference Monday.

The first explosion today occurred at a single-family house in the northeast section of the city and appears to have been caused by a package that had been placed on the porch of a home rather than delivered by a mail service, police said. Police believe the explosion happened after residents took the package inside to open it.

"What we understand at this point is that earlier this morning, residents went out front, and there was a package on the front doorstep. They brought that package inside the residence and as they opened that package, both victims were in the kitchen and the package exploded causing the injuries that resulted in the young man’s death and the injuries to the adult female," Manley said today.

Authorities have warned residents that if they receive a package they are not expecting, they should contact the Austin Police Department.

The FBI told ABC News that it was responding to the first reported explosion and assisting Austin police, who are the lead agency handling the situation.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has sent staff from both its national response team and reinforcements to bolster local field resources. The national response team is the entity that goes in to major incidents to investigate complex fires and explosions – most recently the church fires in the south and the Oakland warehouse catastrophe.

An explosion earlier this month
Today's blasts follow the explosion on March 2, which police received a call about at 6:55 a.m. that day.

The victim in that explosion, Anthony Stephan House, died from his injuries after being transported to a local hospital.

"That case was being investigated as a suspicious death," Manley said today. "It is now being reclassified and is now a homicide investigation as well. We are looking at these incidents as being related based on similarities that we have seen and the initial evidence that we have on hand here today compared to what we found on the scene of that explosion that took place a week back."

Manley noted that "we don't know the motive behind these" events though he said that all three of the homes involved in blasts today and on March 2 blast had African-American residents.

"We can not rule [out] that hate crime is at the core of this, but we’re not saying that’s the cause as well," he said.

Today's blasts come at a particularly busy time for Austin, as the city hosts the annual SXSW music, film and technology conference from March 13 until March 18.

ABC News' Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

Austins a beautiful community, restaurants, country music, home of the UT, and Texas seat of government.  Who would want to bomb it?

Ben Mothafuckin' Reilly wrote:Spent most of the day covering this.

Maddog wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

Austins a beautiful community, restaurants, country music, home of the UT, and Texas seat of government.  Who would want to bomb it?

They hate us cuz the ain't us.  

Maddog wrote:I also read that all the victims were black, so there could be that angle.

Maddog wrote:May have something to do with SXSW.  

Original Quill wrote:

Ben Mothafuckin' Reilly wrote:Spent most of the day covering this.

Yeah, be careful.  These bombs could be anything.  Any tips on a motive?

Ben Mothafuckin' Reilly wrote:Oh, I should add another detail -- the black targets were related to prominent members of the black community in Austin. I think that says it all, really.

Ben Mothafuckin' Reilly wrote:I really hope it works out that way. I think we need to apprehend the bomber or bombers and make sure we find out their motivation.

Actually, that's why I'm so glad the Florida high school shooter is still alive. Maybe we can learn something about why people do these things.

Original Quill wrote:Unfortunately, when the person in the WH is from a major crime family, running a global crime syndicate, using the government as a vehicle for his graft...well, it's polarizing on its own.

But this smells of southern white-supremacist, KKK, or down home racism.  No claim of responsibility.  No broader point.  No message whatsoever.  This is the way the KKK has always operated...just, ya know, burn the church and run.

Didge wrote:

Original Quill wrote:Unfortunately, when the person in the WH is from a major crime family, running a global crime syndicate, using the government as a vehicle for his graft...well, it's polarizing on its own.

But this smells of southern white-supremacist, KKK, or down home racism.  No claim of responsibility.  No broader point.  No message whatsoever.  This is the way the KKK has always operated...just, ya know, burn the church and run.

Then do you not have faith in your own justice system?

Didge wrote:I mean, I always understood America had a fair and just legal system

I mean how was Nixon taken down?

You want to combat the racism and this Far right terrorism in America?

Stop making this a war between the left and right. Starting bringing people together standing united against extremism from both quarters.

Original Quill wrote:

Didge wrote:


Then do you not have faith in your own justice system?

That's true.  I no longer believe that the US is a nation of laws.  We are proving everyday that politics trumps (no pun) law.  It started with Dick Cheney getting let off by the snowflake Obama.  He just made it worse.  Now the cancer has metastasized, and look what appeasement has gotten us.

Didge wrote:So basically you are basing this off one situation?
Even though many people are convicted everyday?
I warned you about appeasement with Syria and inaction and look where we are now with Russia?
You kept claiming the bollocks about baby killing and yet far more babies have been killed by your stance there

Didge, the cops don't join the robbers.

What do you have in mind?  That we help the money launderers of the Russian mafia?  That we just accept that 13-year old girls are being shipped and sold around the world for prostitution?  This is how Trump is making his money.  We give into Trump, and there is no law and order.

Original Quill wrote:Trump has no policies.  He's as slippery as vaseline precisely because he can go anyway he wants from day to day.

The Trump family is a New York organized crime family, currently in the grips of the Russian mafia.

Didge wrote:

Maddog wrote:May have something to do with SXSW.  

Or some Far Right hate group?

Didge wrote:

Ben Mothafuckin' Reilly wrote:I really hope it works out that way. I think we need to apprehend the bomber or bombers and make sure we find out their motivation.

Actually, that's why I'm so glad the Florida high school shooter is still alive. Maybe we can learn something about why people do these things.

Interesting point on the shooter, but I think what is needed is people from both right and left to say no to extremism.

To me, at the moment, the message is about dividing people in the US, which is wrong and I have never seen the US, as divided. As I have read from history. I am not claiming its like that daily on the ground individuallly, but overall as a nation.

To me, what needs to happen is a message that brings people together. Not one that divides. All we see is pro-Trump and anti-Trump, which to me, misses the main issues. Trump uses issues to misdirect the American people. Where most of these issues are not even in the US. Like for example Sweden etc.

What people have to do, is show how trump is wrong and that America is united against hate and division. Not through violence or hate, but through unity. Not masked antifa thugs, but people reasoning their views to win people over against hate.

Sadly, all I am seeing is hate breeding hate from both sides

Maddog wrote:A lot of folks make a good living keeping the hate alive. It's not uncommon for folks to attack their own, in an attempt to blame others.

KXAN wrote:Now with tripwire bomb, APD says they're working with a serial bomber
By: KXAN Staff
Updated: Mar 19, 2018 12:16 PM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The latest of four bombings in the Austin area in the past 16 days has a "higher level of sophistication" than the previous three, according to an update from Austin Interim Police Chief Brian Manley.

"We are clearly dealing with what we expect to be a serial bomber at this point," Manley said.

Hours after the bombing Manley said it is "very possible" the device in Sunday night's explosion was triggered by a trip wire. In a press conference around 10 a.m., he said the device that exploded has similarities to the other explosive devices, based on preliminary results, even though it does use a more complex tripwire system. He noted in an earlier press conference that the bombs have different kinds of projectiles within them.

Two men, who are 22 and 23 years old respectively, were either riding or pushing their bicycles, when the latest bomb next to a fence exploded in the "Travis Country East" subdivision in southwest Austin around 8:32 p.m. Both men are in good condition at the hospital, according to a spokesperson for St. David's South Austin Medical Center, but do have significant injuries. The Austin Police Department confirmed both men injured in the latest bombing are white, while the other victims were black or Hispanic.

APD initially asked homeowners within a half-mile radius of the intersection of Dawn Song Drive at Republic of Texas Boulevard to stay inside their homes until 10 a.m. Monday, but extended that time to 2 p.m. Republic of Texas Boulevard is blocked between Missions Oaks and Travis Country Boulevard.

Because of the concern about the latest bomb possibly having a tripwire device -- in which a victim puts pressure on a wire or fishing line to detonate it -- officials waited until it was daylight to sweep the area and begin a thorough search and analysis of the blast. Along with more than 500 federal agents, bomb technicians from San Antonio and Houston are headed to Austin to help with the case.

Chief Manley said in a press conference at 1:45 a.m. Monday that the possibility the bomb was triggered by a trip wire and the fact that the explosive device was left next to the road instead of on a front porch like the previous three cases necessitated a new warning to the public:

"We now need the community to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device, whether it be a package, a bag, a backpack, anything that looks out of place. And do not approach it. Again do not approach items like that, but instead call 911 to report it so we can go out and make sure it’s safe."

Initial reports indicate some key differences between the latest bombing and the other three, including that it happened at night, did not occur in east Austin, did not appear to be on someone's front porch, may have been set off by a trip wire and may not be a package. Police are asking anyone who sees anything suspicious -- not just a package -- to call 911.

Police are also looking for any surveillance video from the area of the latest bombing. They ask Travis Country residence to call 512-974-5210 if they have any video of the blast, or suspicious people or vehicles in the area.

"This has to be a community response," Manley said Monday morning. "This is something we have to solve as a community."

The four bombings
Sunday night's bombing took place just after 8:30 p.m. Austin-Travis County EMS says it originally responded to the 4700 block of Eagle Feather Dr., located off of Southwest Parkway and west of South MoPac Expressway. However, when they arrived, ATCEMS and Austin police said the explosion was actually in the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive, which is one block away.

The explosion Sunday evening is the fourth such incident since March 2, when 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House was killed by a package bomb in northeast Austin. A second (east Austin) and third bombing (southeast Austin) during the morning hours of March 12 ended in another person being killed and another two injured.

"Three targeted attacks and now a random victim, we definitely see a change in the method the suspect is using," Manley said. He added that at this point officials are not willing to classify these bombings as domestic terrorism or hate crimes because they don't know enough, and don't want to cut themselves off from considering all possibilities just yet.

Sunday night's bombing came less than 12 hours after the Austin Police Department held a news conference pleading for the person responsible for the recent bombings to come forward before anyone else was injured or killed.

"We want to understand what brought you to this point and we want to listen to you," said Chief Manley.

During the news conference, authorities also increased the reward amount to $115,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects.

Neighborhood effects
Austin ISD said in a Facebook post that its school buses will be unable to go into the neighborhood Monday Any tardies or absences due to the situation will be excused, the district said. Two nearby schools -- St. Gabriel's Catholic School and St. Andrews's Episcopal School -- are on two-hour delays. Regents High School said it initially would have a delay to perform a security sweep, but later canceled classes entirely.

Neighbors Heard the Blast
Stan Malachowski was inside his home when he heard the noise, but didn't think anything of it initially.

"It was loud enough to hear inside of our house with our windows and door shut. Again, airplanes go by and cars backfire so we didn’t think much of it," says Malachowski.

Malachowski and his family were out of town last week for spring break, but they had been following the bombing news.

"It’s not just an east Austin thing, or north Austin thing, it’s now southwest Austin. This is not good," says Malachowski.

http://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/two-men-injured-in-explosion-in-southwest-austin/1056692545

News.com.au wrote:A fifth mail bomb, which was destined for Austin, Texas has exploded in San Antonio

A PACKAGE containing nails and shrapnel that was to be sent to Austin, Texas, has exploded in San Antonio, injuring one worker. It is the fifth mail bomb in the area this month.

A PACKAGE bomb containing nails and shrapnel that was destined for an address in Austin, Texas, has exploded at a FedEx Corp distribution centre in San Antonio, injuring one employee, San Antonio fire officials say.

That blast came two days after the latest of four powerful homemade bombs set off in Austin this month, which killed two people and injured six more in what police warned appeared to be the work of a serial bomber.

The package exploded shortly after midnight local time at a distribution facility in Schertz, Texas, outside of San Antonio, about 105km south of Austin, the San Antonio Fire Department said on Twitter.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene and investigating, fire officials said.

They did not give further details of the address to which the package was bound. Police did not immediately say if the explosion appeared to be linked to the four prior blasts.

The first three were parcel bombs dropped off in front of homes on Austin’s east side, with the fourth an apparent trip-wire device that went off on the city’s west side on Sunday.

Those four devices were similar in construction, suggesting they were the work of the same bomb maker, officials said.

Anthony Stephan House, 39, died on March 2 and Draylen Mason, 17, died on March 12 when package bombs were left at their respective homes.

US Failing Cheeto-Faced Ferret-Wearing Shit Gibbon has been attacked for not commenting on the bombs, where some of victims have come from Austin’s historically black and Latino neighbourhoods.

“Can you imagine bombings occurring in McClean, Georgetown, Loudoun or Tyson’s killing and injuring white people and any suspicion of it being a person of colour or Muslim,” the NAACP_Loudoun tweeted. “The National Media, namely Fox News, and the Tweeter in Chief would be apoplectic.”

FedEx officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/a-fifth-mail-bomb-which-was-destined-for-austin-texas-has-exploded-in-san-antonio/news-story/3589e37bf39ed71cdab59cfd341201e6

CBS News wrote:Austin Bombings Suspect Dead - Blows Himself Up as Police Move In

By: CBS News

AUSTIN, Texas -- The suspect in the spate of bombings in Austin, Texas is dead, Austin police say. Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters early Wednesday the 24-year-old male detonated a device in his vehicle after being pursued by police early Wednesday morning.

Manley said authorities don't know why the man [Mark Anthony Cinditt], who was white, engaged in the bombings. He said the suspect's identify wouldn't be released until the medical examiner confirmed it and his next of kin are notified.

Tips on the suspect had been pouring in for the last 24 to 36 hours, according to Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.  Once investigators were satisfied they'd determined who the bomber was, surveillance teams began looking for him and spotted a vehicle he was known to be driving at a hotel in the Austin suburb of Round Rock, Manley said.

While police and federal agents were in position around the hotel, the suspect started driving away. Law enforcement followed.  The vehicle then stopped in a ditchon the side of a road.

At that point, Manley continued,  as an Austin police SWAT team closed in, the suspect fired at them, then detonated a device in vehicle. One SWAT team member was knocked back from the blast as he approached the vehicle and suffered minor injuries, Manley said.

Authorities think the suspect was behind all the bombings in Austin this month but FBI agent Chris Combs, head of the bureaus San Antonio office, says, "We are concerned that there may be other packages that are still out there." People in Austin are being urged to remain vigilant, since it's not known if any other devices were planted.

It wasn't clear whether the suspect intended to plant the device he used to kill himself, authorities added.

http://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/austin-bombings-suspect-blows-himself-up/1065335495