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Suspect in Austin Bombings Is Dead, Police Say Suspect in Austin Bombings Blew Himself Up, Police Say
(about 1 hour later)
A suspect in the series of bombings that have terrorized the city of Austin, Tex., died early Wednesday after he blew himself up in his car as he was being chased by the police, the authorities said. A suspect in the series of bombings that have terrorized the city of Austin, Tex., died early Wednesday, blowing himself up in his vehicle as officers closed in on him, the authorities said.
The Austin Police Department reported in the early morning that an officer had been involved in a shooting on Interstate 35 in Round Rock, just north of Austin, and people in the area reported hearing an explosion. The scene was quickly swarming with law enforcement officers. The Austin police chief, Brian Manley, described the suspect as a 24-year-old white man, without releasing any more information. Officials did not rule out the possibility that the man had accomplices.
Hours later, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms wrote on Twitter that it had agents, as did the F.B.I. and the Austin police, at the location, which it called “the scene of the individual suspected in the” bombings. “We do not understand what motivated him to do what he did,” Chief Manley said.
The suspect, who has not been identified, was believed to be involved in the case of at least five bombs that have detonated this month in Austin and San Antonio, killing at least two people and wounding five. Law enforcement officials cautioned that the bomber could have planted other explosives that have not yet detonated. “We still need to remain vigilant,” Chief Manley said. “We do not know where he has been in the past 24 hours.”
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was acting on his own or working in concert with others. He added, “This investigation is still underway, so we cannot say that this was an individual acting on their own.”
The attacks started the morning of March 2, when a package bomb detonated on the porch of an Austin home, killing Anthony Stephan House, 39. That was followed 10 days later by two bombs outside homes, one of which killed a 17 year old. In a Twitter post, President Trump praised law enforcement officials for their work in identifying and locating the suspect.
Later, a package bomb sent off outside another Austin home, a tripwire bomb detonated near a sidewalk, and a package bomb exploded at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio. Officials expressed confidence that they knew the identity of the dead man, but Chief Manley said his name would not be released until the body had been positively identified by a medical examiner and the man’s family had been notified.
The suspect is believed to be responsible for at least six bombs that killed at least two people and wounded five. Four bombs detonated in various locations in Austin where they had been left. One detonated at a FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Tex., near San Antonio, and another was found, unexploded, in the same facility.
“There were several leads that led us to this person,” including surveillance video, Chief Manley said.
The attacks started the morning of March 2, when a package bomb detonated on the porch of an Austin home, killing Anthony Stephan House, 39. That was followed 10 days later by two bombs outside homes, one of which killed a 17-year-old boy.
The first three bombs were apparently detonated by being picked up or jostled. Later, a package bomb exploded outside another Austin home, set off by a tripwire. The bombs at the FedEx center were found on Tuesday; officials have refused to say to whom they were addressed or whether they were bound for Austin.
“Within the past 24 to 36 hours, we started getting information on one person of interest,” Chief Manley said. “This person of interest ultimately moved to being a suspect.”
The suspect’s vehicle was traced to a hotel in Round Rock, just north of Austin, he said, where a SWAT team surreptitiously surrounded the hotel and called other specialized units. But before those teams could arrive, the suspect drove away.
Officers followed the suspect, who stopped in a ditch off Interstate 35, and SWAT officers approached the vehicle on foot, the chief said.
“The suspect detonated a bomb inside of the vehicle, knocking one officer back” and slightly injuring him, he said. Another officer fired his gun at the vehicle.