Cops: Austin package bombings connected

‘Box-type deliveries’ kill 75-year-old woman, teen

AUSTIN, Texas – A 75-year-old woman was killed after picking up an exploding package outside her Southeast Austin home on Monday in the second blast reported in the city and the third similar incident in two weeks, Austin police said.

Interim Police Chief Brian Manley confirmed that evidence suggested that this bombing was related to two previous blasts from “box-type deliveries” that killed a teenager earlier in the among Republicans.

But Trump backed off that stance in recent weeks, following lobbying at the White House by officials from the NRA.

Rather than push for a sweeping federal law, Trump wants state and local officials to set the age limits. “States are making this decision,” Trump wrote day and a 39-year-old man 10 days ago.

Manley warned the public about receiving unexpected or suspiciouslooking deliveries in an “average-size delivery box,” but declined to offer more specifics about the packages to protect the integrity of the investigation.

He said the devices can be detonated by moving or by opening the boxes.

“Assigning a motive is not possible at this stage in the investigation,” Manley said, adding that

IIIMMonday, making an apparent reference to Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s decision to sign a state law requiring gun buyers be 21 and imposing a three-day waiting period on most gun purchases.

The Florida bill also allows school staff to carry firearms, an idea Trump has championed police were willing to investigate any avenue.

“We will leave no stone unturned because we will not allow this to go on in this city,” he said.

The chief said authorities did not have a description of suspects or suspected vehicles.

So it was “imperative that you come forward if you know something,” he said. “We have innocent people being hurt.”

The woman was hospitalized with critical injuries, he said.

Federal investigators with the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Postal Service were working with police, Manley said.

“It’s not time to panic, but it is time to be vigilant,” Manley said. “If you see a suspicious package on yours or somebody else’s doorstep, let us know.”

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his office’s Criminal Justice Division would offer a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or people involved in the package bombs.