Blast rocks Texas FedEx center
Case may help narrow hunt for Austin bomber
AUSTIN – A bomb blast that rocked a Texas FedEx facility near San Antonio on Tuesday widened the destructive path of a serial bomber but provided “extensive evidence” that may have narrowed the intense manhunt for the killer.
The package bomb that exploded at FedEx near San Antonio was mailed from Austin, where four bombings this month have killed two people, wounded four more and stumped hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers. One worker suffered minor injuries in Tuesday’s blast, authorities said.
“It would be silly for us not to admit that we suspect it’s related” to the four bombings in Austin, FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee in San Antonio told the Associated Press.
FedEx confirmed “the individual responsible” for the blast also sent a second package found at the distribution center in Schertz, about 20 miles northeast of San Antonio and 65 miles south of Austin. Authorities said, however, that no second bomb had been found.
“We have provided law enforcement responsible for this investigation extensive evidence related to these packages and the individual that shipped them collected from our advanced technology security systems,” FedEx said in a statement.
Schertz Police Chief Michael Hansen said the explosion, which happened around 1 a.m., came from a package on a conveyor belt in the sorting area. The injured worker was treated for injuries and released at the scene, he said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told KXAN-TV that the package that exploded in Schertz was shipped from – and bound for – Austin. Investigators closed off an Austin-area FedEx store from which they believe the bomb was sent to the distribution center.