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Austin, Texas (CNN) Austin police just confirmed what residents have feared for weeks -- a suspected serial bomber is attacking their city.
For the fourth time this month, a device exploded on Austin residents. What makes Sunday night's blast especially terrifying is that the device was left on the side of a residential road and triggered by a tripwire, police said Monday.
Investigators have found similarities between that device and three previous bombs, which were stuffed inside packages and left on residents' doorsteps, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said.
"We are clearly dealing with what we expect to be a serial bomber at this point," he said.
The latest device -- which was triggered by a tripwire -- shows "a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill," he said.
And unlike the victims of the previous blasts, the two men wounded in Sunday's explosion are white, Austin police said. Both men are expected to recover.
Latest developments
Police departments in Houston and San Antonio are sending bomb technicians and canine teams to Austin to help in the investigation, their police chiefs said Monday.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the Austin bombings, a White House spokesman said Monday, adding the White House pledges its support to local law enforcement.
Three members of the Congressional Black Caucus called Monday for federal officials to classify the bombings as terrorist attacks and determine whether they are "ideologically or racially motivated."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than $265,000 in emergency funding for police to purchase seven portable X-ray systems for use in detecting bombs and investigating suspicious packages.
The Travis Country neighborhood of Austin was on lockdown Monday, Manley said, as authorities investigate the pieces of evidence strewn across a wide area.
Manley asked anyone in the neighborhood with security camera footage to call police.
The Austin public school district says it couldn't send buses to the affected neighborhood Monday because of police activity.
An indiscriminate wake-up call
Many minority residents in Austin have been on edge since the bombings started, as the first three bombings killed or wounded minorities.
Several residents under lockdown Monday said they were stunned the latest attack happened in their neighborhood.
Unlike the first three bombings, which happened in east Austin, the latest attack happened in a predominantly white part of town.
Eliza May said because the first three bombings happening on the east side of the city, in predominantly minority areas, she hadn't been following the news closely.
May said that as a resident of the affluent Travis Country neighborhood , she assumed she had nothing to worry about.
"We feel safe. This isn't something that you'd expect around here," May said.
Now, "it's obvious that you have to be alert."
"This was a random bomb," she said. "This could have been any one of us."
Neighbor Shonda Mace said the bombing "is going to be (a) life-changing event for our neighborhood."
"I'm scared about what's going to happen next," she said.
Tripwire could give clues
"The use of a tripwire is far less discriminating than leaving parcel bombs at residences and suggests that the latest victims were not specifically targeted," the global think tank Stratfor Threat Lens said.
"The device's success, despite significantly different design, further suggests that the bomb maker behind these attacks is an accomplished one, and has likely to have received some training, perhaps as a military or police explosive ordnance disposal technician."
"As the bomb maker changes up design and geography, all residents of Austin and surrounding areas should avoid suspicious items," Stratfor Threat Lens said.
'Extra level of vigilance' needed
The latest blast came less than a week after police said the three previous explosions -- in a span of 10 days -- were connected. Those blasts killed a man and a teenager, and wounded two others.
Police are working under the belief that the explosions are related. Manley said they'll get a better idea with a post-blast analysis and examination of the device components.
In the meantime, Manley told residents not to touch or go near anything that looks suspicious.
"We now need the community to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device -- whether it be a package or a bag, a backpack -- anything that looks out of place," Manley said Monday. "Do not approach items like that."
APD is asking the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious. If you come across ANYTHING that looks suspicious, DO NOT touch, handle or disturb it. Keep a safe distance and call 9-1-1 immediately. pic.twitter.com/buJsLqeRy5 — Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 19, 2018
More resources for police
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the release of $265,500 in emergency funding Monday for the Austin Police Department and the Texas Ranger Response Team to purchase seven portable X-ray systems.
The systems can be used at the scene and provide "clear visual evidence for rapid assessment of a package's safety," the governor's office said.
"I want to ensure everyone in the Austin region and the entire state that Texas is committed to providing every resource necessary to make sure these crimes are solved as quickly as possible," Abbott said in a statement.
Other Texas law enforcement agencies are contributing resources as well.
The Houston police department said Monday it's sending several teams to Austin to help with the investigation. They include bomb technicians, an explosive ordnance disposal team, and an explosives-trained dog and handler, Chief Art Acevedo said Monday.
"We stand with the Austin Police Department," Acevedo said.
The San Antonio Police Department dispatched two bomb technicians and a bomb dog to Austin on Monday morning, Police Chief William McManus said.
Shortly before the fourth bombing, the reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for the three blasts increased to a total of $115,000, authorities said.
Officials have urged residents to call police with any tips they may have, even if the information seems to be "inconsequential."
A deadly serial bomber has struck in Austin for what appears to be the fourth time this month, frightening residents and prompting police to put a neighbourhood in the Texan capital into lockdown.
After three packages exploded earlier in March, killing two people and seriously injuring another while baffling the authorities, the city’s police chief appealed on Sunday for the suspect or suspects to make contact.
But later that night another bomb seriously injured two more people, deepening the mystery – and the alarm.
The men, aged 22 and 23, were by the side of a road in a quiet residential area, known as Travis Country, about seven miles west of downtown just after 8.30pm on Sunday when, police said, they triggered a tripwire next to a fence. They were taken to hospital with significant injuries and were in stable condition on Monday morning.
The location and the detonation method are in marked contrast to the three previous incidents. Anthony House, 39, died on 2 March. Then 17-year-old Draylen Mason was killed on the morning of 12 March and his mother was hurt. About five hours later, Esperanza Herrera, 75, was seriously injured. All three picked up packages left on their doorsteps that exploded; the package that killed the teenager detonated in his kitchen.
Police had begun exploring possible connections between the victims. The two who died were African American and their families know each other, raising suspicions of a racial motive.
The attacks took place in the east of a city in which the Interstate 35 freeway that runs through downtown has historically acted as a dividing line between predominantly white areas to the west and mainly black and Hispanic neighbourhoods on the other side.
Sunday’s victims, though, are white; the neighbourhood is to the west, 10 miles from the previous attack; and the use of a tripwire in a public street suggests a perpetrator aiming for random targets.
“We are clearly dealing with what we expect to be a serial bomber at this point,” Brian Manley, the police chief, told reporters on Monday.
The latest explosion raises the fear that simply walking outside – particularly in the dark when a thin tripwire will be almost impossible to spot – could prove fatal. Police have appealed for residents to provide footage from home surveillance, such as doorbell cameras. Rewards for information worth $115,000 have been offered.
Austin welcomed thousands of visitors last week for the annual South by Southwest festival. A man was arrested on Saturday for an emailed bomb threat that prompted the cancellation of a concert by the Roots, but police said the suspect was not linked to the explosions.
The Travis Country neighborhood was cordoned off by police and residents were told to stay indoors.
“We were not willing to classify this as terrorism, as hate, because we just don’t know enough. And what we have seen now is a significant change from what appeared to be three very targeted attacks to what was last night a target that would have hit a random victim that happened to walk by,” Manley said.
However, the NAACP, the civil rights organization, on Monday called the bombings acts of domestic terrorism.
Police were guarding the main entrance to the subdivision in Travis Country on Monday afternoon, with FBI trucks parked behind yellow crime scene tape. One local, who gave his name as Joe said: “This morning when I left the house I was even afraid to open the door, thinking there might be a wire there.”
“We heard it at home. From a block and a half away it sounded very loud. it sounded like it was two [bangs] as the sound travelled.”
The incident took place in an affluent area where the city’s dense urban core gently gives way to gated communities where secluded mansions nestle in rolling hills and abundant greenery features hiking and biking trails.
“This is a family neighbourhood,” Joe said. “I can guarantee you it’s affecting the whole community … I have a 13-year-old and I have to worry about him, how it’s going to affect him.”
Four bombings this month in Austin, Tex., including one on Sunday night, have killed two people and injured four, and they have put the state capital on high alert.
Date Description March 18 Package on the side of the road injured two March 12 Package outside house injured a 75-year-old woman March 12 Package outside house killed one and injured another March 2 Package on front porch killed one
4 Bombing on Sunday Night
The authorities responded to Dawn Song Drive in southwest Austin after reports of an explosion around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Two men in their 20s were seriously injured, according to the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
In a press briefing, Chief Brian Manley of the Austin Police Department reported that a package was left on the side of the road and that the bomb was possibly triggered by tripwire, unlike the previous bombings.
The scene outside the bombing on Sunday night that injured two people. Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated Press
2 3 Two Bombings on March 12
An explosion was reported on Oldfort Hill Drive in East Austin at about 6:45 a.m. on March 12; a 17-year-old, Draylen Mason, was killed and his mother was critically injured. She opened a package in the kitchen after bringing it in from the front porch of her house, according to Chief Manley.
Later that morning, around 11:50 a.m., another explosion was reported on Galindo Street, only a few miles away. A 75-year-old Hispanic woman was significantly injured when she picked up a package left outside of her house.
The scene near Galindo Street after the bombing. Suzanne Cordeiro/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images
1 First Bombing on March 2
At about 6:55 a.m. on March 2, Anthony Stephan House, 39, was killed after he handled a box left on his front porch.
Outside the residence of Anthony Stephan House. Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
The damage at the doorway of the house, partly covered by plywood. Jon Herskovitz/Reuters
The Common Links
In a press briefing after the second round of bombings, the Austin Police Department confirmed that the three cases on March 2 and March 12 were connected.
“What we have right now are similarities that we believe link the three cases together,” Chief Manley said.
All three episodes involved cardboard packages that were left on doorsteps overnight, the police chief said. None of the packages were delivered through the Postal Service or any other delivery services.
The police have so far been unable to identify any motives or commonalities among the victims.
The #FBI, ATF, and Austin Police Department seek the public's assistance with identifying the individual(s) responsible for the package bombs which injured and killed several Austin, Texas, residents. Reward offered: https://t.co/fcGIut3Ou8 pic.twitter.com/wjdbWZciQZ — FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) 2018年3月18日
“We are not ruling anything out at this point,” Chief Manley said when asked about the potential targets of the attacks. “Because when you rule something out, you limit your focus of the investigation and you might miss something.”
Two of the people killed after handling the packages were members of African-American families with deep roots in the city’s black, religious and civil rights groups.
