2 injured in west Austin explosion
Police: Unknown if it is related to parcel bombs
AUSTIN — An explosion late Sunday night injured two people and sent law enforcement scrambling to determine whether the incident is connected to three deadly package bombs that detonated in other parts of the city earlier this month.
The latest explosion, reported just after 8:30 p.m. in a neighborhood southwest of the Barton Creek Greenbelt, injured two men in their 20s. No one was killed, according to police.
Austin interim police chief Brian Manley called the scene “unfolding” and “active.” He did not specifically call Sunday night’s explosion another package bomb but reiterated the warning police gave Austin residents last week not to touch or “even go near” unfamiliar packages for the time being.
Authorities also asked residents to stay inside as they investigated the initial explosion scene, as well as a backpack found in the area to ensure it wasn’t also an explosive device. Access to the heavily wooded Travis Country neighborhood was restricted as swarms of FBI and police officers investigated. They expected it to be daylight before they could clear the scene.
“It’s obvious an explosion has taken place,” Manley said at a press briefing late Sunday. “We just don’t know a lot at this point.”
This latest explosion comes as the Austin Police Department increased its reward to $115,000 for information leading to arrests in the three bombings that killed two residents and rattled the entire city over the past weeks. The first package bomb exploded early March 2, when a man opened a
package that was left on his doorstep. Anthony Stephan House later died of his injuries.
Police initially believed the first incident was isolated, drawing complaints from community members who say police should have warned residents about suspicious packages afterward.
“We simply did not have anything available to us that day to make us believe that this would happen again in our community,” Manley said.
On March 12, two packages exploded in Austin: One killed 17-year-old Draylen Mason and injured his 40-year-old mother. The second package, which exploded about 5 miles away, seriously injured the 75-year-old woman who received it.
“Please keep the calls coming,” Manley said. “We don’t want the tips to slow down. We need that tip, and you may have the one piece of information that helps us put this all together.” Manley said they believe the bombs were meant to send a message to the city.
“These events in Austin have garnered worldwide attention, and we assure you we are listening,” said Manley, addressing the person responsible for the bombings. “We want to understand what brought you to this point, and we want to listen to you.”
Over 500 agents have investigated 435 leads in the case, including conducting over 230 interviews, according to Manley. Investigators now know how the bombs were constructed and the materials used in the package bombs, but Manley did not release that information.
People across Texas reacted to the news of the latest incident on social media Sunday night.
“I hope this isn’t what it looks like,” Austin resident Brian Keenan posted on Facebook.
Though police didn’t confirm the nature of the explosion, most people on social media worried it was another package bomb detonation.
“This is getting ridiculous,” said Rudy Hernandez, who lives in San Antonio, on Facebook. “I don’t even want to order anything right now.”
Shonda Mace, 38, lives just one block from where the explosion was reported. She was in bed watching TV when the incident first happened, she said, but soon her phone “started blowing up” with texts from friends who had heard the news.
Mace recorded a Facebook Live video as she explored the scene on her street, but she went home when her phone battery started to die.
“When I left there were at least 30 FBI agents there, plus the bomb units — multiple bomb units,” she said. “Light, sirens, everywhere — they’re all over the place. The neighborhood’s going to be shut down for awhile, for sure.”
Anyone with tips or information related to the case is encouraged to contact the TIPS Hotline at 512-572-TIPS (8477).
alejandra.matos@chron.com twitter.com/amatos12