'Incendiary device' injures 1 in US Austin
HOUSTON - A man was injured after an "incendiary device" was found on Tuesday evening at a Goodwill store in Austin, capital city of Texas, which has been hit by a string of package bombs this month.
US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Tuesday night that a man in his 30s was injured in Tuesday's incident in southern Austin and "it does not appear to be related to the package bomb murders."
Austin Police Department tweeted that Tuesday's incident was caused by an incendiary device. "At this time, we have no reason to believe this incident is related to previous package bombs."
Four package bombings have been reported this month in Austin, which has left one person killed and several wounded.
The first bomb exploded on March 2 while a man picked up a package outside his home in northern Austin. Ten days later, two more bombs went off in the eastern part of the city. The fourth bomb went off on Sunday night in Travis County in southern Austin.
According to the local Emergency Medical Services, earlier on Tuesday, a worker was injured in an explosion at a FedEx Corp. distribution center near San Antonio, about 310 km west of Houston.
The package was en route to Austin, according to police, and officials said they think it was the work of the same person or people responsible for the four earlier explosions in the Texas capital.
FedEx said in a statement on Tuesday that it "has confirmed that a package detonated at a San Antonio FedEx Ground facility early this morning. We have also confirmed that the individual responsible also shipped a second package that has now been secured and turned over to law enforcement."
On the weekend, Austin police added $50,000 to the reward for information that can lead to an arrest over the package bomb cases,bringing the total reward to $115,000.
To enhance the capabilities of the Austin Police Department (APD)'s Bomb Squad, the Office of the Governor of Texas announced on Monday the release of $265,500 in emergency funding for APD and the Texas Ranger Bomb Response Team to purchase seven portable x-ray systems for use in bomb detection and responding to suspicious package investigations.
These x-ray systems are used by bomb technicians on scene and provide clear visual evidence for rapid assessment of a package's safety.
The governor's office said that several of these units are already used by Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians responding to suspicious package calls and securing crime scenes to ensure citizen safety.
