Austin Bombing Suspect Blows Himself Up to Avoid Arrest

The city of Austin, Texas may be able to exhale a bit early this morning after a man suspected of conducting a serial mail bomb spree blew himself to smithereens as authorities closed in.

The man was identified by surveillance video from the FedEx store that he shipped an explosive device from that later detonated at one of the shipping giant’s Austin facilities.

According to reports, the individual is as of this point unidentified and he died in the hotel that he was traced to. Details are still sketchy at this early point as they often are with stories like this.

BREAKING NEWS: Austin bombing suspect dies as police close in, official says #AustinBombings https://t.co/Z58k4iTwMY pic.twitter.com/yu7kFidgGf

— Austin Statesman (@statesman) March 21, 2018

Via the Austin American-Statesman “Austin bombing suspect dies as police close in, official says”:

The suspect in a string of bombings in Austin is dead, interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley confirmed early Wednesday.

Investigators identified several leads but the case really broke in the past 24 to 36 hours, Manley said.

The chief described how authorities tracked down the suspect’s vehicle to a Round Rock-area hotel. Police began following the suspect’s vehicle, and as SWAT approached, the suspect detonated a bomb in the car, Manley said.

The suspect’s name has not been released, pending notification of his family, Manley said.

Earlier: A man whom authorities were attempting to arrest early Wednesday in a string of bombing attacks in Austin killed himself with an explosive device as authorities closed in, a high-ranking law enforcement official told the American-Statesman.

The official said authorities identified a suspect in the past 24 hours based largely on information gained after police said the suspect shipped an explosive device from a FedEx store in Sunset Valley, a suburb surrounded by Austin. That evidence included security video.

Authorities also relied upon store receipts showing suspicious transactions from the person and obtained a search warrant for his Google search history that showed him conducting searches they considered suspicious, the official said.

Authorities relied upon cell phone technology to trace the suspect to a hotel in Williamson County, the official said.

Four bombs have exploded in Austin since March 2, killing two men and injuring four people. A fifth bomb exploded early Tuesday at a FedEx sorting facility in Schertz, about 60 miles southwest of Austin. A package containing what was believed to be an unexploded bomb was found Tuesday at a FedEx distribution center in Austin. Authorities believe the FedEx packages were sent from the FedEx retail store in Sunset Valley.

It has yet to be confirmed whether all bombs can be traced to him or just those mailed from the FedEx location where he made the mistake of being caught on video at.

This is a developing story….