Police in Austin, Texas, report receiving 150 “suspicious package” calls from terrified residents after three bomb explosions killed two people and injured two more. The “related” blasts occurred within a two-week period.
Austin Interim Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters Tuesday morning that his department received 150 calls from concerned citizens about “suspicious packages.” None of the calls resulted in finding additional explosive devices, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Chief Manley asked residents of his city to remain vigilant and to continue to report anything they believe to be suspicious.
The Austin Police Department also tweeted warnings to residents urging them to be cautious.
Two bombs exploded in Austin on Monday and another on March 2, Breitbart Texas reported. A 39-year-old man died in the March 2 explosion in northeast Austin. A 17-year-old boy died in the explosion Monday morning and his mother received severe injuries. In the third explosion, located a few miles from Monday’s first explosion, a 75-year-old woman sustained life-threatening injuries and is listed in critical condition.
Following Monday’s blasts, Chief Manley sent out warnings to the public about unexpected or unusual packages arriving at people’s homes in Austin.
Police are holding details about the bombs close to their vests. However, officials stated the three bombings in the Austin area are the work of a person or people who “know what they are doing,” the Washington Post reported.
Chief Manley told reporters on Tuesday that the “suspect or suspects” have used their skills to build and move the bombs without setting them off accidentally.
“When the victims have picked these packages up, they have at that point exploded,” Manley told KXAN, an Austin-area NBC affiliate. “There’s a certain level of skill and sophistication that whoever is doing this has.”
Three of the four victims of the bomber are black, officials reported. The elderly woman injured in the third attack is Hispanic.
Chief Manley told the local NBC affiliate in an exclusive interview that there are more than 100 federal law enforcement officials assisting his department with the investigation.
“What we’re seeing is exactly what we’d like to see in our city and our great state,” Manley stated. “And that is all of the law enforcement professionals coming together to work on this.” He said the department does not have enough K-9 units or bomb techs to work all three scenes and respond to suspicious package calls. He explained that the help from the other agencies expedites the responses.
“They’ve been successful in three incidents here in Austin that have resulted in two deaths and two severely wounded individuals and we’re not going to stop,” Manley concluded in the interview with KXAN. “We’re going to go all out with our federal partners, and we will not rest until we’ve identified the suspect and taken him into custody.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, GAB, and Facebook.
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