Austin bombings: Suspect dead, say US media - BBC News

21/3/2018
Austin bombings: Suspect dead, say US media

Police investigate an incident involving explosives in Austin on Tuesday
A suspect linked with a series of deadly parcel bombs targeting Austin, Texas, is dead after a major police operation, US media report.

The suspect was killed after reportedly detonating a device off an interstate highway in the Round Rock area of the state capital, CBS News reports.

FBI agents are reportedly now carrying out an investigation at the scene.

The incident follows four bomb attacks in Austin, the state capital, and one in Schertz, 65 miles (104km) south.

CCTV images of a "person of interest" were earlier shared on US media showing a white male with blond hair carrying a number of large packages
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Randy Beamer
✔
@randybeamer
BREAKING: Exclusive photos of Austin bombing 'Person of Interest' dropping off 2 packages at Austin @FedEx store. Believed to be wearing wig.
Recognize him? Contact: @FBI  @Austin_Police
More info: http://bit.ly/2FQdHPR  @News4SA @cbsaustin

6:56 PM - Mar 21, 2018

The Austin police department is expected to give a media briefing soon.

Austin has been on edge amid the attacks, which have led to the deployment of hundreds of police officers to the city.

What do we know about the bombings?
Authorities have said that a series of blasts that began in Austin in early March - involving package bombs and a tripwire - were all related:

2 March: A device explodes at Anthony Stephan House's home in Austin, killing the 29-year-old man
13 March: Draylen William Mason, 17, is killed and his mother is critically injured after he brings a package inside his home from the doorstep in Austin
13 March: Hours later, a 75-year-old Hispanic woman, who has not been named, is injured by another package in the state capital
18 March: A device injures two men who may have set off a tripwire while walking along a street in Austin
20 March: A parcel bomb explodes at a FedEx depot in Schertz, slightly injuring one person. Police said the parcel had been due to be shipped to Austin

Media captionTexas explosions: The search for the suspect
What has President Trump said?
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that "a very, very sick individual, or maybe individuals" carried out the blasts and pledged justice for the victims.

"The bombings in Austin are terrible," he said on Tuesday.

"This is obviously a very, very sick individual, or maybe individuals.

"We will get to the bottom of it. We will be very strong."