Two Austin package explosions leave one teen dead, multiple injured

World Today

(PHOTO: Austin PD)

On Monday afternoon, police responded to a package explosion that injured one person. This came only hours after another package blew up in another part of the city, killing a teenager and injuring a woman

Austin police said there was no clear motive for the explosions, but believe it may be linked to a March 2 blast in the city that killed a man. Both incidents are being investigated as homicides. The two homes that received the packages belonged to African-Americans, the police said.

“We believe there’s a possibility that they are related,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told a news conference. “Is there any specific ideology behind these offenses or any possible hate crime or anything? We’re not saying that there is, but at this point, we’re looking at any possible avenue in these two cases.”

In the Monday morning blast, the package was spotted in front of the house in the morning. It was taken into the kitchen, where it exploded, Manley said. The woman, in her 40s, was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening.

Manley said the Monday blast had similarities to an explosion in a different Austin neighborhood that killed a man on March 2.

“We are looking at these incidents as being related,” he said, adding that federal investigators have joined the case.

Austin police said after the March 2 explosion that they had no indication the fatal blast was related to terrorism.

In both cases, the packages apparently were delivered overnight and found in the morning, Manley said.

Story by Reuters