Fifth Bomb Destined for Austin Injures Another Person

[Content Note: Terrorism; eliminationist violence.]

Background: Part One and Part Two.

Following four other explosions in Austin, a package bound for Austin exploded at a FedEx distribution facility near San Antonio this morning. One person was injured, not seriously.

The FBI has agents at the site of the explosion, which comes after a string of bombings in Austin. FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee says, "We believe that the explosion is likely connected" to those earlier blasts.

...It's the fifth explosion of a device either in Austin or meant to be delivered to the city. Investigators said Monday that a "serial bomber" is behind the attacks, which have killed two people and injured several others.

"Several local news outlets report the package was coming from Austin and being sent to an Austin address," Nadia Hamdan of member station KUT in Austin reports. "The FedEx facility is about an hour southwest of the city."

It seems that Tuesday's explosion was not as dangerous as it might have been had it reached its target.

"[T]he package was moving from an elevated conveyor belt to a lower section when it exploded," reports CBS Austin.

The package "contained shrapnel consisting of nails and pieces of metal, sources said," according to the CBS affiliate.

This is the third different M.O. in the series of bombs: The first three were packages left at residences; the fourth was a roadside bomb; and now a package delivery via a professional delivery service.

The use of FedEx in this case is what took the package out of Austin, even though it originated from an Austin address and was destined for an Austin address. It's possible the bomber never realized that it would have left the city.

Incredibly scary. My thoughts are with you, Austinites. Someone is terrorizing your city, and I am very angry and very sad about that.