Austin neighborhood in a state of disbelief.

Residents’ nerves are rattled as police investigate explosion that injured 2 men

AUSTIN — Kathie Haydon and her 9-year-old son won’t be taking their pug Lola on a walk any time soon. Haydon usually runs around the neighborhood once or twice a week — that will stop. Her family won’t ride their bikes either.

Haydon lives in the Travis Country neighborhood where a bomb went off Sunday night, the fourth in Austin in less than a month. Haydon and other residents say the bombing has changed their sense of security in an area of the city known for its tight-knit community. As police continue to investigate the explosion, which injured two young men, residents say they remain on edge and desperate for answers on who may be responsible for the series of bombings.

“Up until yesterday, our neighborhood had a very safe feeling to it,” Haydon said. “Everybody is in a state of disbelief.”

Around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, a bomb exploded near the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive in Travis Country, an upscale neighborhood southwest of the Barton Creek Greenbelt and Barton Creek Wilderness Park. Police believe the bomb contained a trip wire, a device

that causes a bomb to detonate whenever someone comes in contact with it. In the darkness of night, two men were walking with their bikes when a bomb exploded on the side of the road, just feet from a home’s fence.

The explosion is the fourth in the capital city since March 2, but law enforcement officials have few leads on who may be responsible. On Monday, for the first time, Austin interim Police Chief Brian Manley described the suspect as a “serial bomber.”

As Haydon and her husband were giving their son his bedtime bath, Haydon heard a loud boom. She told her husband she thought it was a bomb. He thought she was joking. When the sirens started wailing a few minutes later, she turned to Next Door, a mobile app for messages and alerts. Someone said the blast was indeed a bomb.

“My son, his friend and his friend’s father had just ridden their bikes on that very street,” Haydon said.

The Travis Country neighborhood is in southwest Austin. It has easy access to downtown Austin and advertises itself as the city’s “first environmentally planned” community. It has vast areas of lush trees and trails near it. Homes in the area average half a million dollars. Many residents have lived in the area for decades, but more and more young families have been moving in.

The fear felt in the Travis County neighborhood permeated the city Monday.

Austin Independent School District Superintendent Paul Cruz sent a letter to parents outlining the district’s safety plan. Faculty and staff are carefully examining all mail deliveries and conducting perimeter checks for any suspicious items inside or outside of school buildings, Cruz said.

Suzann Madeley said she feels safe in her home and in her neighborhood, but not elsewhere.

“I hate this. I hate this for everybody in Austin,” she said.