AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A package bomb exploded shortly after midnight Tuesday inside a FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Texas, and the FBI and ATF are at the scene, spokeswomen for both agencies told The Washington Post.
The explosion happened occurred at a facility in Schertz, Tex., just northeast of San Antonio sometime around 1 a.m., said FBI Special Agent Michelle Lee. ATF spokeswoman Nicole Strong said that early indications are that no one was injured.
The Associated Press reported erroneously earlier Tuesday that the San Antonio Fire Department said one person had suffered a non-life-threatening “percussion-type” injury from the blast. That information came from SanantonioFIRE, a local media website that reports on local police, fire and emergency service news, and could not immediately be independently confirmed.
The blast follows a Sunday night blast that was triggered along a street by a nearly invisible tripwire, suggesting a “higher level of sophistication” than agents saw in three early package bombs left on doorsteps. It means the carnage by a suspected serial bomber that has terrorized Austin for weeks is now random, rather than targeted at someone in particular.
William Grote says Sunday’s attack the latest left what appeared to be nails embedded in his grandson’s knees.
The grandfather of one of the latest bombing victims in Austin says the blast left what appeared to be nails stuck below his grandson’s knees. William Grote told The Associated Press that his grandson was cognizant Monday but in a lot of pain. (March 19)
Two people are dead and four injured, and authorities don’t appear closer to making any arrests in the five bombings.
Authorities haven’t identified Sunday night’s victims, but Grote told The Associated Press that his grandson was one of the two men wounded in southwest Austin’s quiet Travis Country neighborhood. They suffered what police said were significant injuries and remained hospitalized in stable condition.
Grote said his grandson is cognizant but still in a lot of pain. He said the night of the bombing, one of the victims was riding a bike in the street and the other was on a sidewalk when they crossed a trapwire that he said knocked “them both off their feet.”
“It was so dark they couldn’t tell and they tripped,” he said. “They didn’t see it. It was a wire. And it blew up.”
Grote said his son, who lives about 100 yards (91 meters) away from the blast, heard the explosion and raced outside. “Both of them were kind of bleeding profusely,” Grote said.
That was a departure from the three earlier bombings, which involved parcels left on doorsteps that detonated when moved or opened.
The tripwire twist heightened the fear around Austin, a town famous for its cool, hipster attitude.
“It’s creepy,” said Erin Mays, 33. “I’m not a scared person, but this feels very next-door-neighbor kind of stuff.”
Authorities repeated prior warnings about not touching unexpected packages and also issued new ones to be wary of any stray object left in public, especially one with wires protruding.
“We’re very concerned that with tripwires, a child could be walking down a sidewalk and hit something,” Christopher Combs, FBI agent in charge of the bureau’s San Antonio division, said in an interview.
Police originally pointed to possible hate crimes, but the victims have now been black, Hispanic and white and from different parts of the increasingly diverse city. Domestic terrorism is among the variety of possible motives investigators are looking at.
Local and state police and hundreds of federal agents are investigating, and the reward for information leading to an arrest has climbed to $115,000.
“We are clearly dealing with what we believe to be a serial bomber at this point,” Austin police Chief Brian Manley said, citing similarities among the four bombs. He would not elaborate, though, saying he didn’t want to undermine the investigation.
While the first three bombings all occurred east of Interstate 35, a section of town that tends to be more heavily minority and less affluent, Sunday’s was west of the highway. The differences in where the blasts have occurred, the lack of a motive and other unknowns make it harder to draw conclusions about a possible pattern, further unnerving a city on edge.
Thad Holt, 76, said he is now watching his steps as he makes his way through a section of town near the latest attack. “I think everybody can now say, ‘Oh, that’s like my neighborhood,’” he said.
Fred Milanowski, agent in charge of the Houston division of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the latest bomb was anchored to a metal yard sign near the head of a hiking trail.
“It was a thin wire or filament, kind of like fishing line,” he said. “It would have been very difficult for someone to see.”
Milanowski said authorities have checked more than 500 leads. Police asked anyone with surveillance cameras at their homes to come forward with the footage on the chance it captured suspicious vehicles or people.
Noel Holmes, whose house is about a mile away, was stunned by how loud Sunday’s explosion was.
“It sounded like a very nearby cannon,” Holmes said. “We went out and heard all the sirens, but it was eerie. You didn’t feel like you should be outside at all.”
Spring break ended Monday for the University of Texas and many area school districts. University police warned returning students to be alert and to tell their classmates about the danger, saying, “We must look out for one another.” None of the four attacks happened close to the campus near the heart of Austin.
The PGA’s Dell Technologies Match Play tournament is scheduled to begin in Austin on Wednesday, and dozens of the world’s top golfers were to begin arriving.
“I’m pretty sure the tour has enough security to keep things safe in here. But this is scary what’s happening,” said golfer Jhonattan Vegas, already in town.
Andrew Zimmerman, a 44-year-old coffee shop worker, said the use of a tripwire adds a new level of suspected professionalism and makes it harder to guard against such attacks.
“This makes me sick,” he said.
