The nation has been following the Austin bombings closely. Either through social media or news outlets everyone has been up on the details. If you have not been following I have put this article together to describe the events and investigation from your local news. There were five explosions in Austin this March. This bombing was not like the past recent bombings that had a high volume of damage. These were explosions that were a lot more intimate. These bombs were left on front porches. It doesn't get more personal and unsafe than that.
The first bombing occurred on March 2nd resulting in the death of Anthony Stephan House.
He leaves behind an 8 year old daughter. She was in the house when the explosion occurred. This bomb was a package left on his porch. Authorities did not suspect the work of a serial bomber especially since it took police days to reveal he was killed by the explosion. They pursued it was a possibility it was a botched retaliation after a recent drug raid on that street. When the next explosion occurred eights days later and killed college-bound Draylen Mason investigations began.
After a 75 year old Esperanza Herrera was injured the attacks seemed racially motivated. The fourth bomb was not on the east side or concealed in a package. It was detonated by a trip wire that was triggered by two men who didn't see it.
The authorities called it the work of a "sophisticated serial bomber." The fifth bomb was detonated at a FedEx facility Tuesday that didn't cause any injuries. The package was en route to Austin. Concerns among residents in Austin were high pending no suspect yet in the investigation.
'Alleged' Austin Bomber Found
Authorities scanned surveillance images.
Sunday surveillance images were recorded showing a white man, wearing gloves and a cap, taking two packages into a FedEx store in south Austin area. It took two days to determine if he was a person of interest. Late Tuesday he was determined as the prime suspect. Now it was time to track the man in the surveillance video. Surveillance teams were able to track his vehicle location.
It showed he was at a hotel in Round Rock, 20 miles north of Austin.
The vehicle left the hotel. As it was approached by SWAT members a bomb was detonated by the suspect. He killed himself and injured a SWAT member. The motivation behind the bombs are unclear. Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said, " We don't know where this suspect has spent his last 24 hours, and therefore we still need to remain vigilant to ensure that no other packages or devices have been left throughout the community." Knowledge of whether the suspect was working alone is still being investigated. law enforcement received a big thumbs up from President Donald Trump on twitter.
