Police in Texas say a suspect in a recent spate of bombings in the state capital and other areas is dead.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, speaking at a news conference just before 4 a.m. local time, said in the previous 36 hours the pursuit of the suspect developed rapidly. The suspect's vehicle was identified near a hotel early Wednesday, and while under surveillance and being followed, he detonated a device in the stopped vehicle, killing himself.
An officer was injured as a result of the explosion, Manley said.
It was unclear if the suspect was prepared to deliver that explosive, or had retained it so as not to be taken alive into custody.
The Austin Police Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had confirmed on social media early Wednesday that an unfolding investigation was happening in the 1700 block of N. Interstate 35 in the suburb of Round Rock.
Authorities were not prepared yet to identify the suspect, but said he was a 24-year-old old white male. They said it's unclear if he planted other devices, so they reiterated their previous warnings for residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious packages.
Manley was also not prepared to definitively state the suspect acted alone or had assistance, and the motive for the attacks is unknown. He credited witness statements and video evidence as helping lead to the identification of the man.
Investigators have been pursuing a suspected serial bomber in Austin since the first explosion on March 2, when a 39-year old man was killed. A 17-year-old boy was killed and two women were injured in two separate blasts on March 12.
Four others were injured, and with the victims black or Hispanic, there had been speculation of a racial motive. The devices discovered in the past three days, however, appeared to be more randomly placed.
Manley said the deceased was a suspect from early in the investigation but police suspicions intensified in the last few days.
On Tuesday, a bomb inside a package exploded around 1 a.m. as it passed along a conveyer belt at a FedEx shipping centre in Schertz, northeast of San Antonio and about 95 kilometres southwest of Austin. One worker reported ringing in her ears and was treated at the scene.
Later in the morning, police sent a bomb squad to a FedEx facility outside the Austin airport to check on a suspicious package. Federal agencies and police later said that package had indeed contained an explosive that was successfully intercepted and that it, too, was tied to the other bombings.
Authorities also closed off an Austin-area FedEx store where they believe the bomb that exploded in Schertz was shipped. They roped off a large area around the shopping centre in the enclave of Sunset Valley and were collecting evidence.
The Schertz blast came two days after a bombing wounded two men Sunday night in a quiet Austin neighborhood about five kilometres from the FedEx store. It was triggered by a nearly invisible tripwire, suggesting a "higher level of sophistication" than agents saw in three package bombs previously left on doorsteps.
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