Parcel filled with ‘nails and shrapnel’ en route to Austin explodes at a FedEx site in San Antonio as FBI probe link to serial bomber
Package ‘containing nails and shrapnel’ exploded at FedEx facility in Schertz, San Antonio, at about 12.30am on Tuesday
One female employee was taken to hospital after suffering a mild injury
The package, bound for Austin, detonated while moving between conveyor belts
Authorities say the blast is likely linked to four other attacks this month in Austin that have left two people dead and four others injured
Just hours after the package explosion in San Antonio, emergency crews were called to a FedEx facility in Austin following reports of a suspicious package
Police warn a ‘serial bomber’ is at large and say the devices appear to be getting more sophisticated each time
Latest blast follows a Sunday night explosion that was triggered along a street in Austin by a nearly invisible tripwire
The first three were parcel bombs dropped off in front of Austin homes
Authorities don’t appear closer to making any arrests in the five bombings
President Trump has been criticized for his silence over the bombings which have targeted victims from Austin’s historically black and Latino neighborhoods
By EMILY CRANE and HANNAH PARRY
DAILYMAIL.COM
20 March 2018
A package ‘containing nails and pieces of metal’ destined for Austin has exploded and injured one person inside a FedEx facility in nearby San Antonio in the fifth bombing to rock the state this month.
The wounded employee was taken to hospital after suffering a mild injury in the explosion at the distribution center in Schertz, about 65 miles south of Austin, shortly after midnight.
The package detonated as it was moving from one conveyor belt to another and the female staff member, who was not hit by the contents, was treated for a headache, possibly caused by a concussion.
Federal agents say the package is likely linked to four other attacks this month in Austin, some 80 miles north-east of San Antonio, that have left two dead and four injured.
Authorities say a ‘serial bomber’ is at large and have warned that the devices appear to be getting more sophisticated.
Just hours after the package explosion in San Antonio, emergency crews were called to a FedEx facility in Austin following reports of a suspicious package. There were no immediate details available about that incident.
The package contained shrapnel made up of ‘nails and pieces of metal’, CBS Austin reports. About 75 people were working at the facility at the time of the explosion.
The latest blast follows a Sunday night explosion that was triggered along a street in Austin by a nearly invisible tripwire, suggesting a ‘higher level of sophistication’ than agents saw in three early package bombs left on doorsteps.
It means the carnage by the serial bomber that has terrorized Austin for weeks is now random, rather than targeted at someone in particular.
Authorities don’t appear closer to making any arrests in the five bombings.
FBI Special Agent Michelle Lee said although it is still early in the investigation, it was likely all five bombings are related.
She didn’t have details about the size, weight or description of the package that exploded.
It comes as President Donald Trump was criticized for his silence over the Austin bombings, where most of the victims have come from the city’s historically black and Latino neighborhoods.
Unlike other attacks, such as the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida, which Trump was quick to label an act of terrorism, the president has remained silent about the Austin bombs.
The first two bombs killed black men and investigators believed that the third, which injured a 75-year-old Latina woman, may have been intended for a black family’s home – raising the possibility they were a hate crime.
Sunday’s trip wire bomb, which injured two white men on a sidewalk, went off shortly after police made a rare public call to the suspect to explain his motives.
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