Police link Austin package explosions; teenager killed

An Austin teenager was killed and several others injured Monday when two packages left on doorsteps exploded, marking the second and third deadly package explosions in the Texas capital in two weeks.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said the three incidents displayed enough similarities to lead police to investigate them together. Because two of the victims were African Americans and one was Hispanic, Manley said, investigators also were viewing the attacks as possible hate crimes.

His department is working with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine if the three bombs were similar.

“We are not going to tolerate this in Austin,” Manley said while briefing reporters. “Every stop will be pulled out.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who planted the bombs.

In all three cases, packages were left on a doorstep during the night and residents found them in the morning.

The first incident occurred March 2 in a home in northern Austin. Anthony Stephan House, 39, was killed by the blast, but his death was not initially ruled a homicide because it was an “isolated incident.”

After two more explosions on Monday, House’s death was reclassified as a homicide and added to the broader investigation.

The first call Monday came at 6:44 a.m. A 17-year-old male and an “adult female” found a package on their doorstep and opened it in their kitchen. Neighbors called police after hearing an explosion inside the house.

The teen died in the hospital. The woman received minor injuries.

As investigators combed through the scene, residents from south Austin called police about another explosion. Police found a 75-year-old Hispanic woman who also had found a package that exploded when she opened it.

Manley said she was facing “lifethreatening injuries.”

He said his office still didn’t know the motive behind the attacks. He said his office has not ruled out terrorism.

RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL/AP Officials investigate after a teen was killed in an explosion in Austin. Three blasts have been reported in two weeks.