Authorities confirmed that the suspect was a 24-year-old white male but declined to say where he was from.
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Chief Manley said they “don’t know where the suspect has been the past 24 hours”, and that there may be other devices out there. Officers had tracked him to a hotel and as they were getting into position with their tactical team, the suspect drove off.
Law enforcement had a scare on Tuesday night (Wednesday NZT) at a Goodwill store in southern Austin, where someone had dropped off a device sometimes used in military training and it went off, injuring a worker. They added that the intercepted package, too, was believed to be related to the other bombings.
United States president Donald Trump, who had earlier branded the Texas bomber a “sick individual”, praised law enforcement officials.
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was acting on his own or working in concert with others. “The safety and security measures in place across the FedEx networks are created to protect the safety of our people, customers and communities, and to assist law enforcement as appropriate”.
Austin has been targeted by four package bombings since March 2 that killed two people and wounded four others. One of the two packages exploded on a conveyor belt at a FedEx sorting facility outside San Antonio, in Schertz.
One of the officers sustained minor injuries after being blown back by the explosion. They also said they don’t know the suspect’s motive. Police said the suspect is dead after suffering significant injuries from the bomb detonation inside his vehicle.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Chris Combs, head of the agency’s San Antonio office, said, “We are concerned that there may be other packages that are still out there”. According to police, investigators began looking into a person of interest earlier this week. Suspect detonated device, shots were fired.
Authorities identified him only as a 24-year-old white man.
A suspect linked with a series of deadly parcel bombs targeting the Texan city of Austin is dead after a major police operation, officials say.
Austin was on edge this month as police warned residents to beware any suspicious packages. FedEx said the person who sent the package that exploded Tuesday also shipped a second one that was turned over to law enforcement officials.
The Associated Press wasn’t immediately able to confirm the report.
Round Rock police say while northbound I-35 is open, southbound I-35 will be closed for the next four to six hours due to the investigation. One person reported ringing in her ears and was treated at the scene in Schertz and released.
In the past three weeks, four explosions in Austin left two people dead and four injured.
According to NBC Los Angeles, “The confrontation took place between the Austin PD SWAT team and the individual believed to be connected to the bombings”.
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 first bombing happened on Friday, March 2 at a home located at 1112 Haverford Dr.in northeast Austin.
A 39-year old man was killed. A 75-year-old woman was severely injured.
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Evidence: The company said it provided authorities with “extensive evidence” from its security system on the packages and the person who shipped them.
