Package explosions in Austin, hate crime eyed

[mbcdefg]

Associated Press: apnews.com/0f63a75d81be40d29b6ae10ad9e16377

WaPo: Police warn of ‘suspicious’ packages as more explosions rock Austin


www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/12/police-warn-of-suspicious-packages-as-more-explosions-rock-austin/?utm_term=.7093883c87cc

Emergency officials in Austin reported an explosion on Monday, the third such incident in two weeks — and the second of the day.



On March 2, a 39-year-old man in northeast Austin was killed after a package on his front porch exploded, police said.



Early Monday morning, police responded to a similar package explosion at a home on Oldfort Hill Drive. One person, a teenager, died and another person was injured, police said.



Authorities said they believe the two incidents are linked.



Then, shortly before noon, local time, police responded to a third explosion, this time on the southeast side of the city.


...


Local media outlets reported that the first two homes belonged to African Americans and that authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.

[Pom]

Wtf. People suck.

[pixy0stix]

That's terrifying.

[isabel]

Holy shit.

[raangoli]

Holy crap. I hope they find whoever is doing this. Why are people so awful to one another?

[mskitkat]

Fuck, that’s horrifying.

[WanderingWinoZ]

that's just awful...i can't even imagine...I hope they find somebody quickly.

[juliej]

Horrible. And SXSW just started too.

[Pom]

There is a press conference on MSNBC right now. Two African American victims and the third is a Hispanic woman in her 70's. I'm glad this is getting coverage.

[twotrue]

That's horrible.

[Velar Fricative]

Holy shit.

[rjamz]

Motherfuckers. People just find worse and worse ways to be hateful towards others.

[rjamz]

Motherfuckers. People just find worse and worse ways to be hateful towards others.

[bugandbibs]

This is really scary. I feel for the people of Austin and the terror they are facing.

[AJL]

This is really scary y'all. 

[goldengirlz]

This is awful and terrifying. It sounds like two of the families knew each other so hopefully that will lead investigators to the despicable monster who did this.

[mbcdefg]

Fourth Austin package explosion this month possibly detonated by tripwire, leaving 2 injured, police say


www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/03/18/two-injured-in-explosion-in-austin-police-say/?utm_term=.c8fb84d75db8

Hours after Austin police made a public appeal Sunday regarding three deadly package explosions in the city this month, they were called to investigate yet another incident that caused multiple injuries in a residential area.



Two men in their 20s were injured Sunday in an explosion on the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive after a package bomb detonated as they passed on bicycles, said interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley. Unlike the other explosions, which detonated after victims tried to pick up packages left at their homes, this package was left on the side of the road and was possibly triggered by a tripwire, Manley said.



“We are working under the belief that this is related to the other bombing incidents that have occurred in our community over the last couple weeks,” he said at a news conference at 1:30 a.m. Monday.



The two men, who have not been identified, were rushed to the hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, Austin-Travis County EMS officials said on Twitter. Early Monday, a spokeswoman for St. David’s South Austin Medical Center said the injured men were in good condition.



****************

The Associated Press ap

BREAKING: Latest explosion in Austin, Texas, caused by tripwire and showed "different level of skill," police chief says on "Good Morning America."



****************
Austin Package Bombs Appear to Be Targeting Prominent Black Families


nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/austin-bombs-appear-to-be-targeting-prominent-black-families.html

Three package bombs have gone off in Austin, Texas, in the past two weeks, and they appear to have targeted members of prominent black families, the president of the local NAACP told NBC News Wednesday.



The families of Stephen House, who was killed on March 2, and Draylen Mason, who was killed on Monday, have known each other for a long time “and go to the same church,” according to Nelson Linder. The Austin NAACP president said that a third bomb, which injured 75-year-old Esperanza Herrera, may have been intended for “another person who might be connected to the House and Mason families.”



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.”

[lingome]

This is my neighborhood. We are on lockdown. I'm rattled to say the least. I had just come in from a long walk through the neighborhood when the explosion happened. According to a friend on the street, it was one of several wires that was tripped by a couple of guys on their bikes riding by a house.

I have always felt ridiculously safe here. Our kids spend most days running around with their friends without a thought.

[AJL]

This explosion last night is a mile from my sister's office. I also have a lot of friends in that neighborhood/area. I grew up there.

We live just a bit further east, but this is all too close and really scary.

[georgeglass]

lingome, I'm so sorry. I lived in DC when the sniper stuff was happening and I remember how pervasive the fear and anxiety were. I hope, for so many reasons, that they catch the assholes behind this very quickly.

[winecat]

lingome- A friend of mine lives near you. She said the same thing.

[bugandbibs]

I'm so shocked/upset/angry/sad about another one and the shift in MO. I'm so sorry for those that are dealing with this situation. It's horrifying.

[twotrue]

This was awful to begin with, but now the idea of a trip wire being used is even more frightening. I can only hope this more advanced method of bombing leads to more clues for ATF to pursue.

[iammalcolmx]

Mar 19, 2018 8:26:09 GMT -5 georgeglass said:

lingome , I'm so sorry. I lived in DC when the sniper stuff was happening and I remember how pervasive the fear and anxiety were. I hope, for so many reasons, that they catch the assholes behind this very quickly.

RIGHT?? Did you run in zig zags in parking lots as well??? Getting gas also sucked balls, I would only get gas near Howard because he was mostly in the Burbs.

[georgeglass]

Mar 19, 2018 9:33:41 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Mar 19, 2018 8:26:09 GMT -5 georgeglass said:

lingome , I'm so sorry. I lived in DC when the sniper stuff was happening and I remember how pervasive the fear and anxiety were. I hope, for so many reasons, that they catch the assholes behind this very quickly.

RIGHT?? Did you run in zig zags in parking lots as well??? Getting gas also sucked balls, I would only get gas near Howard because he was mostly in the Burbs.

ABSOLUTELY! I lived right off 395, so "my" gas station was thought to be a prime target (easy escape for sniper). I was on the phone with my sister and told her I needed gas. She started sobbing, telling me not to do it. The woman at the pump ahead of me was bobbing and weaving the whole time she was filling up, screaming, "MFer not gonna get me!"

The school where I work now was near one of the more southern incidents and I learned later that the maintenance staff made a human shield line for the little kids to walk behind during dismissal. Breaks my heart every time to think about that.

[iammalcolmx]

Mar 19, 2018 9:51:40 GMT -5 georgeglass said:

Mar 19, 2018 9:33:41 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

RIGHT?? Did you run in zig zags in parking lots as well??? Getting gas also sucked balls, I would only get gas near Howard because he was mostly in the Burbs.

ABSOLUTELY! I lived right off 395, so "my" gas station was thought to be a prime target (easy escape for sniper). I was on the phone with my sister and told her I needed gas. She started sobbing, telling me not to do it. The woman at the pump ahead of me was bobbing and weaving the whole time she was filling up, screaming, "MFer not gonna get me!"

The school where I work now was near one of the more southern incidents and I learned later that the maintenance staff made a human shield line for the little kids to walk behind during dismissal. Breaks my heart every time to think about that.

Remember how everyone would run out of gas right after a shooting because they would stop traffic for hours and everyone's tank was already low? That kid he shot in Bowie, thank god his aunt was a nurse.

[WOT?*]

lingome and AJL - Stay safe. My uncle is outside the suburban district, but it doesn't mean I don't worry. (Speaking of the DC sniper, we lived in OH but DH is from there and still has friends there. His family was in the immediate area of some of the targets. We may have been 1K miles away but we still worried for everyone out there. Every time his aunt had to travel for work - which was a lot - or his uncle or his cousin was headed to school was one more opportunity for them to be a target. I couldn't imagine what those who were actually still living there were dealing with.)


ETA: I was listening to CNN or one of the news channels in the car on the way to the middle school when the police came on. They're asking for anybody with any type of surveillance video to please turn it over to the police. It would be amazing justice if someone with a Ring doorbell or other technology caught something leading to their arrest. Something so simple and now so ubiquitous, thanks to people stealing packages and basic dishonesty. I've been wanting one for some time, and this makes me want to break down and buy one for our house.

[pixy0stix]

I'm so sorry for everyone who lives there. How terrifying!

We talked a bit about this at our staff meeting today, and one of the safety tips is to not pick up packages that you don't know where they came from. The issue with this is my mom has been buying crap off ebay to send to me, and I can't get her to stop. So I've been getting these random, unknown packages.

[WanderingWinoZ]

I'm so sorry - this is so awful on so many levels. I can't imagine the psychological terror this must instill. I hope they get some leads soon.

[thejen626]

This is so horrifying. I hope the perpetrators are caught quickly, and that no more innocent people are injured.