CLUES APPEAR IN AUSTIN ATTACKS
Undetonated bomb found Tuesday is second to be shipped via FedEx
Shipment of two bombs via FedEx has revealed potentially valuable info, authorities say.
AUSTIN, Texas — The investigation into a series of bombings that have caused escalating fear in Austin brought promising new leads Tuesday when authorities say the suspect might have left behind clues to his identity at a FedEx store in the community of Sunset Valley.
Authorities believe the perpetrator shipped an explosive device from the FedEx location that was addressed to return to Austin after processing at a transfer facility in Schertz, about 60 miles south. The device instead detonated on a conveyor belt. No one was injured.
Tuesday evening, the FBI confirmed that a second, undetonated bomb sent by the same individual was recovered at a FedEx facility in Southeast Austin. FedEx officials confirmed that they have surrendered a trove of information to law enforcement.
Evidence seized Tuesday includes surveillance videos that “could possibly” show a suspect, said U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
The detonation in Schertz was the fifth explosion in the past 18 days, but it brought new hope to an investigation that had been lacking in meaningful clues. It also brought new fears that the bomber or bombers had shifted to relying upon professional carriers instead of leaving package bombs on doorsteps. Two people have been killed and four have been injured in the attacks.
In a turn that also surprised investigators, the perpetrator used a trip wire to detonate an explosive that was left near a sidewalk on Sunday in Southwest Austin.
Hours after the Schertz explosion, which occurred about 12:30 a.m., Austin police and fire crews began investigating reports of a suspicious package at a similar FedEx sorting facility in Southeast Austin. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas,confirmed the package contained a sixth bomb.
FedEx said in a statement that it has provided law enforcement “extensive evidence related to these packages and the individual that shipped them collected from our advanced technology security systems.”
For the first time, interim Police Chief Brian Manley said Tuesday that the first three package bombs appeared to target specific addresses, but he did not elaborate on whether authorities have any clues about why.
“We do believe that these incidents are all related,” Manley told the Austin City Council in a public briefing Tuesday. “That is because of the specific contents of these devices.”