RadioFreeLiberal.com

An Austin teenager was killed and a woman was injured early Monday when a package left on their doorstep exploded, marking the second deadly package explosion in the Texas capital in two weeks.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said the two incidents displayed enough similarities to investigate them together. Since both victims were African-Americans, Manley said investigators are also viewing the attacks as potential hate crimes.

The first case, which killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House, was initially ruled a suspicious death. But once the second bomb exploded Monday morning, police reclassified House's death as a homicide and added it to a broader investigation.

In Monday's case, a 17-year-old male and an "adult female" found a package on their doorstep and opened it inside their kitchen. Neighbors called police at 6:44 a.m. after hearing an explosion inside the house.
USA Today

It is. I've been there. It's a wonderfully liberal town. Great Tex-Mex food. Lots of zine publishers. (Or were. The scene was back in the 90s). Great indy music scene. And a bridge with lots of bats that hang out underneath.

Though the Austin police agree that the bombings are related, they haven’t suggested a motive. They also haven’t said whether they think the victims were personally targeted. But interim Austin police chief Brian Manley did tell reporters this week that they’re not ruling out the possibly “that hate crime is at the core of this.”

Mason, 17, was a musician who was set to enroll at the University of Texas Butler School of Music. His grandmother LaVonne Mason is a co-founder of the Austin Area Urban League. House, 39, was a father and founder of his own money-management firm. His stepfather, Freddie Dixon, who is close with Mason’s grandparents, was the longtime pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church, a historic black church that was founded by newly freed slaves.

Dixon told the Washington Post that he doesn’t think the victims’ history is a coincidence. “Somebody’s done their homework on both of us, and they knew what they were doing,” he said. “My diagnosis: Number one, I think it’s a hate crime. Number two, somebody’s got some kind of vendetta here.”

Investigators have begun looking into the connection between the Mason and House families, attempting to see if the victims’ relationships to “prominent members of Austin’s African-American community” is related to the bombings, the Austin American-Statesman reported on Wednesday.

Authorities say a fourth device that exploded in Austin, Texas, this month indicates a "serial bomber" — and one who is more sophisticated than the earlier bombs suggested.

Austin Chief of Police Brian Manley said Monday that investigators believe a tripwire might have been used in the device that exploded in a Southwest Austin neighborhood on Sunday night, injuring two men.

Austin Police Warn People To Avoid Packages After 4th Explosion Injures 2
THE TWO-WAY
Austin Police Warn People To Avoid Packages After 4th Explosion Injures 2
"The belief that we are now dealing with someone who is using tripwires shows a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill," he said, adding that if residents see suspicious objects that look out of place, "Do not even approach it, but instead call 911."

The fourth device exploded in the Travis Country neighborhood, which adjoins the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Two young men were walking along a sidewalk or the grassy area along it when they apparently tripped a wire, causing the bomb placed along a fence to detonate.

...

The explosion came a day after Austin police arrested a man for emailing a bomb threat to the Fair Market in East Austin on Saturday evening, forcing the cancellation of a concert by The Roots at the South by Southwest festival. Police charged 26-year-old Trevor Weldon Ingram with making a terroristic threat, which is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

According to The Austin-American Statesman, a representative of the event promotion company Live Nation Music called the police to report the company had received a bomb threat via email at 4:23 p.m. Central time on Saturday. Officers checked the concert venue, but found nothing suspicious. Police took Ingram into custody at 11:15 p.m. Saturday night.

An arrest affidavit made public on Monday said the producer called police after receiving two emails from a Gmail account belonging to “t9ingram” just after 3 p.m. Saturday.

The first email said “F*** u I’m gonna pant a bomb and watch everyone die,” misspelling the word “plant.”

The second email said only “BOMB,” the affidavit said.

An explosion has taken place at a mail facility near San Antonio, Texas, just two days after a bomb went off in Austin, Texas -- the fourth such bombing in the city this month.

According to Schertz police, the explosion took place at a FedEx distribution facility in Schertz, Texas, just after midnight on Tuesday. Schertz is about 65 miles southwest of Austin.

According to police, who spoke with San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT, a medium-sized box exploded at the facility.

Lets not forget that Austin is the Capital City of Texas. Which gives a much wider range of possible suspects.

Yet another reported package explosion injured one person in Austin, Texas, Tuesday evening, as law enforcement hunts for a serial bomber that authorities have said is connected to at least six devices.

The explosion occurred at a Goodwill store on Brodie Lane, the Austin Fire Department said. Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on the scene, and fire crews are evacuating the building.

...

"We have also confirmed that the individual responsible [for Tuesday's package bomb] also shipped a second package that has now been secured and turned over to law enforcement," FedEx said in its statement but did not reveal which of its facilities the package was discovered in.

The two sources confirmed to ABC News the undetonated package was discovered at an Austin facility.

Suspect's parents identified as being home schooling Christians who were overachievers with Amway.

Folks who know all about package delivery.

Really? Did Amway ever sell any actual products?

Ha, yeah they do. My parents were Amway "distributors" for years. Amway is one of the deeply personal reasons I cannot stand Betsy DeVos. Not just because my parents sold their dorky products or even their business model, but because of their ties to rw extremism. Oh and direct marketing, which gave rise to the religious and teaparty right that we know now.

It's the precursor to what we're seeing with C.A./Facebook, too.

Anyway, that's OT but maybe not.