The Latest on serial bombings in Texas (all times local):
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Latest on serial bombings in Texas (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
Authorities say the package that exploded at a FedEx ground facility near San Antonio was on a conveyer belt when it detonated.
Schertz police Chief Michael Hansen said at a news conference that one worker reported feeling ringing in her ears after the early Tuesday blast, but she was treated and released.
Hansen said that the intended target of the parcel bomb wasn’t the facility or anyone who lives in Schertz, which is about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of Austin. But neither Hansen nor federal agents who spoke at the news conference would say where the package was sent to or from or give any other details about the investigation, saying it was still unfolding.
An FBI spokeswoman, agent Michelle Lee, said earlier Tuesday “it would be silly for us not to admit that we suspect it’s related” to the four Austin bombings that have killed two people and injured four others since March 2.
___
8:45 a.m.
Austin police have deployed a hazardous materials squad to a FedEx shipping facility near the city’s airport to investigate reports of a suspicious package.
It isn’t known yet if the suspicious package is linked to a bomb that detonated earlier Tuesday at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio or the four bombs that have gone off in Austin this month.
But the Austin Police Department says an investigation is underway.
The package that exploded earlier Tuesday at the FedEx facility in Schertz, about 60 miles southwest of Austin, slightly injured one worker. Authorities believe it is linked to what they say is a serial bomber responsible for the four Austin bombings since March 2.
___
8:35 a.m.
The White House says the federal government is doing “whatever is necessary” to apprehend whomever is responsible for a series of explosions in Austin, Texas.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells Fox News Channel that President Donald Trump is aware of the situation.
Sanders says federal authorities are working closely with local authorities and have offered their full support and cooperation “to make sure we’re doing whatever is necessary and whatever is possible” to stop the explosions and find whomever is responsible.
A package bomb that authorities believe is linked to the recent string of Austin bombings exploded early Tuesday inside of a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio. A worker suffered minor injuries.
Four other Austin bombings have killed two people and injured four others since March 2.
___
8:30 a.m.
A heavy law enforcement presence is surrounding the FedEx distribution center near San Antonio where a parcel bomb exploded, slightly injuring one worker.
The area around the facility in Schertz is heavily industrial and features warehouses and parking lots empty except for parked trailers.
A woman who identified herself as an FedEx employee emerged from the shipping facility wrapped in a blanket as the sun rose on Tuesday and said she’d been evacuated. She declined to give her name.
The FBI says a package exploded at the facility at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
Authorities believe it is linked to the four bombs that have detonated in the Texas capital of Austin this month. Those bombs killed two people and injured four others.
___
7:45 a.m.
The Austin Police Department says it is aware that a parcel bomb exploded overnight at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio and that it is working closely on the investigation with federal law enforcement agencies.
An FBI spokeswoman, agent Michelle Lee, says it is still early in the investigation into the early Tuesday bombing at the FedEx facility in Schertz, which left one worker with minor injuries. But she says “it would be silly for us not to admit that we suspect it’s related” to the four Austin bombings that have killed two people and injured four others since March 2.
The latest bombing in Austin injured two men on Sunday. Authorities say it was triggered by a tripwire and was a more sophisticated bomb than those used in the first three attacks, which were package bombs left on people’s doorsteps.
The Austin police are again warning people to call 911 if they come across suspicious packages, bags or other items that look out of place.
___
7 a.m.
Federal investigators say a package that exploded at a FedEx facility near San Antonio is believed to be linked to the string of bombings that has terrified the Texas capital this month.
Special Agent Michelle Lee of the FBI in San Antonio says she has no confirmed reports of any injuries in the blast. But the police department in Schertz, where the FedEx facility is located, issued a statement saying one person was treated at the scene and released.
Lee says it is still early in the investigation, but “it would be silly for us not to admit that we suspect it’s related” to the four Austin bombings that have killed two people and injured four others since March 2. The latest bombing in Austin injured two men on Sunday.
Lee didn’t have details about the size, weight or description of the package.
___
5:30 a.m.
Federal agents tell The Washington Post that a package bomb exploded around 1 a.m. Tuesday inside a FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Texas.
Spokeswomen for the FBI and the ATF say both agencies are at the scene.
The explosion happened at the facility just northeast of San Antonio sometime around 1 a.m., said FBI Special Agent Michelle Lee. ATF spokeswoman Nicole Strong said that early indications are that no one was injured.
___
5 a.m.
A website that monitors fire and police activity in San Antonio, Texas, says a package bomb has exploded at a FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Texas, hurting 1 person, a FedEx employee who apparently suffered a non-life-threatening “percussion-type” injury from the blast.
The FBI and ATF are at the scene. Federal agents say this package is likely linked to attacks by what they believe is a serial bomber. The package exploded shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported erroneously earlier Tuesday that the San Antonio Fire Department said one person had suffered a non-life-threatening “percussion-type” injury from the blast. That information came from SanantonioFIRE, a local media website that reports on local police, fire and emergency service news, and could not immediately be independently confirmed.
