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| Second Package Is Found From Same Sender as Bomb at FedEx Facility Near Austin | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| AUSTIN, Tex. — The sender of an explosives-laden package that detonated at the FedEx facility in Schertz, Tex., overnight also shipped a second suspicious package, officials at the company confirmed on Tuesday, suggesting that the wave of bombings that has unnerved Austin since the beginning of the month has now reached the suburbs of San Antonio. | |
| Authorities believe that both packages were dispatched from the Austin area and were intended for delivery to addresses in Austin, where four recent explosions have killed two people and injured four others. | |
| The packages were sent from the FedEx facility in Sunset Valley, a small independent city within Austin, a city official confirmed. The second package was turned over to law enforcement, who planned to detonate it harmlessly. | |
| “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. | |
| Police called in a bomb squad early on Tuesday to investigate a suspicious package found at a FedEx center near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, about 11 miles southeast of downtown. It later emerged that this was the location of the second unexploded package dispatched by the bomber. The facility was sealed off as police and federal agents hunted for clues. | |
| “We are still investigating,” Austin police spokeswoman Destiny Winston told reporters at the scene. | |
| It was not clear whether any more packages were sent by the same person or people who dispatched the two parcels from Sunset Valley, according to a city official who requested anonymity to comment without authorization on a continuing investigation. | |
| More than 500 police and law enforcement agents are working on the case, which Congressman Michael McCaul said on Tuesday was “probably the biggest investigation since the Boston bombings.” | |
| In a meeting with President Trump in Washington, Mr. McCaul, a Texas Republican, said that evidence concerning the latest packages could prove important to the investigation. “Hopefully, [with] fingerprints and surveillance photos, we can finally take him down,” he said. “This is terrorizing the city of Austin right now.” | |
| Federal agents have asked the public to contact the authorities with tips about who or what could be behind the wave of attacks. | Federal agents have asked the public to contact the authorities with tips about who or what could be behind the wave of attacks. |
| “The public’s safety is our No. 1 priority, and we are providing all the resources we can to finally find the persons or individual responsible for this,” Frank Ortega, assistant special agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in San Antonio, told reporters near the scene of the latest explosion, in Schertz, Tex. | “The public’s safety is our No. 1 priority, and we are providing all the resources we can to finally find the persons or individual responsible for this,” Frank Ortega, assistant special agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in San Antonio, told reporters near the scene of the latest explosion, in Schertz, Tex. |
| [Our most recent article on the explosions in Austin can be found here.] | [Our most recent article on the explosions in Austin can be found here.] |
| The blast occurred at about 12:30 a.m. local time when a package traveling along an automated conveyor belt exploded, according to Chief Michael Hansen of the Schertz Police. An employee who had been standing nearby later complained of ringing in the ears and was treated at the scene. “We were very fortunate that there were no injuries,” Chief Hansen said. | The blast occurred at about 12:30 a.m. local time when a package traveling along an automated conveyor belt exploded, according to Chief Michael Hansen of the Schertz Police. An employee who had been standing nearby later complained of ringing in the ears and was treated at the scene. “We were very fortunate that there were no injuries,” Chief Hansen said. |
| The large warehouse-type shipping facility, located in a commercial-industrial center about 25 miles northeast of San Antonio, was evacuated as local and federal agents flooded in, combing the building for clues. | The large warehouse-type shipping facility, located in a commercial-industrial center about 25 miles northeast of San Antonio, was evacuated as local and federal agents flooded in, combing the building for clues. |
| Helen Lafitte, the Schertz Police public information officer, said that nearby streets had been closed, with only vehicles connected to nearby businesses permitted to enter. | Helen Lafitte, the Schertz Police public information officer, said that nearby streets had been closed, with only vehicles connected to nearby businesses permitted to enter. |
| Few details have been released about the devices that have exploded so far. James Smith, assistant special agent in charge of the F.B.I. in San Antonio, refused to confirm local media reports that the package at the FedEx facility contained nails and other shrapnel. | Few details have been released about the devices that have exploded so far. James Smith, assistant special agent in charge of the F.B.I. in San Antonio, refused to confirm local media reports that the package at the FedEx facility contained nails and other shrapnel. |
| Mr. Smith also said the authorities had not determined yet whether the latest explosion was connected to the earlier explosions in Austin: “We do not know at this point right now.” | Mr. Smith also said the authorities had not determined yet whether the latest explosion was connected to the earlier explosions in Austin: “We do not know at this point right now.” |
| He said agents were searching other packages at the FedEx facility to make sure none are hazardous. | He said agents were searching other packages at the FedEx facility to make sure none are hazardous. |
| The four bombings in Austin — the first on March 2, the most recent on Sunday — have killed two people and injured several others. Those explosives were left in locations where people were likely to accidentally detonate them; none were delivered by a commercial 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. Those explosives were left in locations where people were likely to accidentally detonate them; none were delivered by a commercial 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 the explosion on Tuesday, the bombs had seemed to be growing more sophisticated. The first three were simple package bombs, but the fourth, which detonated Sunday evening and injured two people, was triggered by a tripwire. | Before the explosion on Tuesday, the bombs had seemed to be growing more sophisticated. The first three were simple package bombs, but the fourth, which detonated Sunday evening and injured two people, was triggered by a tripwire. |