Police warn of ‘serial bomber’ in Texas capital
AUSTIN, TEXAS• The explosion in an Austin neighbourhood Sunday night had “similarities” with the three bombs what detonated in the Texas capital earlier this month, leading authorities to believe that they are dealing with a “serial bomber” terrorizing the city, police said Monday.
The latest blast, which injured two men while they were walking along the road in a residential area, plunged the city further into a frightening mystery that forced residents in the vicinity of the bombing to remain locked in their homes as investigators scoured the area for answers.
The explosion on Sunday night was apparently set off by a tripwire on the road, causing investigators to determine the bomber or bombers have “a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill” than initially believed, said Brian Manley, the interim Austin police chief. He also said this explosion marked an apparent shift in tactics after the three previous devices were left at people’s homes.
“What we have seen now is a significant change from what appeared to be three very targeted attacks to what was, last night, an attack that would have hit a random victim that happened to walk by,” Manley said. “So we’ve definitely seen a change in the method that this suspect ... is using.”
The explosive device Sunday adds to the uncertainty in Austin, which has been on edge since previous bombings killed two people and injured two others, one seriously. Authorities have seemed at a loss to explain who could be setting off these devices or why, saying only that the bombs were sophisticated and that the attacks could have been motivated by racial bias, although they acknowledged that this is only a theory.
This latest explosion injured two white men — one 22, the other 23 — walking through Austin’s southwest area, far from where the first three devices detonated. The device was on the side of the road, while the previous packages were left at people’s homes, authorities said.
“With this tripwire, this changes things,” said Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office. “It’s more sophisticated. It’s not targeted to individuals. We’re very concerned that with tripwires, a child could be walking down the sidewalk and hit something.”
Authorities have described the explosives as the sophisticated work of a person who is able to assemble and deliver these packages without setting them off.
The two men wounded Sunday were taken to a hospital with serious but nonlife-threatening injuries, and Manley said they were in stable condition Monday.