US: Suspected Austin Attacker Blows Himself up Before Police Close In
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The bomber believed to have terrorized Austin, Texas, with a wave of explosive attacks this month blew himself up as police approached his vehicle early Wednesday, authorities said.
Police said several related bombings this month were the work of a serial bomber -- who changed tactics as explosive packages were left around Austin and one went off at a package sorting facility near San Antonio. The bombings, which began March 2, killed two victims and injured others.
Investigators said they received information early this week that led them to a suspect they tracked to a hotel in Round Rock, Texas, about 15 miles northeast of Austin.
Police said they kept the suspect under surveillance in his car while awaiting a SWAT team Wednesday. Officials said when the vehicle left the hotel around 2 a.m. Wednesday, police followed and pulled the man over on Interstate 35. When SWAT officers approached the vehicle, he set off a bomb -- killing himself and injuring an officer.
The suspect is described as a 24-year-old while male. Police believe he is responsible for all the events that occurred in Austin, the city's police chief said. He was not immediately named.
Police are still investigating whether there are any accomplices. Even if he acted alone, police warned residents to remain vigilant in case he left behind more packages.
A blast at a Goodwill store in south Austin Tuesday night turned out to be unrelated to the case. Austin Police Department Asst. Chief Eli Reyes said officers determined a Goodwill employee found a box of donations containing two "artillery simulators," one of which initiated when a second employee handled the item.
Earlier Tuesday, a package bomb headed for Austin exploded at a FedEx sorting facility near San Antonio. A FedEx employee received a concussion in the blast at the Schertz, Texas, facility.
Police later found another package containing an explosive device at another FedEx facility near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Investigators said that package, found intact, may yield clues.
Police so far are investigating a total of six bombs or suspicious packages this month. In addition to the one that exploded in Schertz and the suspicious package found at the Austin FedEx facility Monday:
-- March 2: Anthony Stephan House, 39, died in the first bombing attack in east Austin. He was a father and a graduate of Texas State University.
-- March 12: Draylen Mason, 17, died and his mother, Shamika Wilson, was injured in the second attack, also in east Austin. Draylen was recently accepted into the selective Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.
-- March 12: Esperanza "Hope" Herrera, 75, was injured when a package left outside her east Austin home exploded.
-- Sunday: A package bomb triggered by a tripwire injured two men, ages 22 and 23, but they will survive.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
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