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Package Explodes at FedEx Center Near San Antonio Package Explodes at FedEx Center Near San Antonio
(35 minutes later)
A package exploded early Tuesday at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio, and local and federal law enforcement agencies were trying to determine whether the incident was linked to four recent bombings in Austin, Tex. AUSTIN, Tex. — A package that exploded early Tuesday at a FedEx center near San Antonio was being looked at by officials involved in the investigation into a series of deadly explosions in Austin, Tex.
[Our most recent article on the explosions in Austin can be found here.]
The latest explosion, in Schertz, Tex., occurred at about 12:30 a.m. local time, and injured one employee, who was not seriously hurt, local law enforcement officials said. The F.B.I. and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or A.T.F., joined local agencies at the scene.The latest explosion, in Schertz, Tex., occurred at about 12:30 a.m. local time, and injured one employee, who was not seriously hurt, local law enforcement officials said. The F.B.I. and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or A.T.F., joined local agencies at the scene.
Local news media, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the package was addressed to an Austin destination and was packed with pieces of metal, including nails, apparently to create shrapnel when it detonated.Local news media, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the package was addressed to an Austin destination and was packed with pieces of metal, including nails, apparently to create shrapnel when it detonated.
The police in Schertz said that the package had been in the sorting area of the facility and that one person was treated at the scene and released. FedEx said that the package had exploded in one of its ground sorting facilities and that the person who was treated was one of its employees.
Schertz, on the outskirts of San Antonio, is about 60 miles south of Austin.
The four bombings in Austin — the first on March 2, the most recent on Sunday — have killed two people and injured several others. The explosives were left in locations where people were likely to accidentally detonate them; none were delivered by a professional service like FedEx.The four bombings in Austin — the first on March 2, the most recent on Sunday — have killed two people and injured several others. The explosives were left in locations where people were likely to accidentally detonate them; none were delivered by a professional service like FedEx.
“We have a high degree of confidence that the same individual built all these devices,” Fred Milanowski, special agent in charge of the A.T.F. office in Houston, told reporters on Monday, referring to the four bombs in Austin.“We have a high degree of confidence that the same individual built all these devices,” Fred Milanowski, special agent in charge of the A.T.F. office in Houston, told reporters on Monday, referring to the four bombs in Austin.
Before Tuesday’s explosion, the attacks had seemed to grow more sophisticated. The first three attacks featured simple package bombs while the fourth, which occurred Sunday evening and injured two people, was triggered by a tripwire.
Even before the explosion on Tuesday, parcel distributors such as FedEx and U.P.S. were on heightened alert after the package bombings in Austin. Those packages were not mailed but instead left on people’s doorsteps.
A U.P.S. spokesman said on Monday, the day before the explosion at the FedEx facility, that its company had been operating with “a heightened sense of awareness,” and had notified employees a week ago about the Austin bombings but had not put any special procedures in place.
The U.S. Postal Service said in a statement on Monday that it had not made any changes to its operations in the Austin area beyond its normal security measures.