{"id":96871,"date":"2018-03-20T08:30:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T12:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=96871"},"modified":"2018-03-20T08:42:36","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T12:42:36","slug":"wapo-the-cia-mockingbird-mouthpiece-publishes-more-fake-news-about-the-austin-bombings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=96871","title":{"rendered":"WAPO: The CIA Mockingbird Mouthpiece Publishes More Fake News About The Austin Bombings"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Package believed bound for Austin explodes at Texas FedEx facility, police say<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->By Meagan Flynn and Mark Berman<br \/>\nThe Washington Post<\/p>\n<h5><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/fb9485cc-2649-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWhile authorities scrambled for clues, another package exploded at a Texas FedEx facility on March 20. (Patrick Martin, Amber Ferguson, Taylor Turner\/The Washington Post)<\/h5>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"1\">A package believed to be bound for Austin exploded at a Texas FedEx facility early Tuesday,\u00a0law enforcement officials said, opening another potential front in investigations into of a series of blasts that have left the Texas capital gripped with fear.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"2\">The explosion happened shortly after midnight at\u00a0the\u00a0facility in Schertz, Tex., just northeast of San Antonio. But few other details were immediately available, including where the package entered the FedEx system, its specific destination and the composition of the device.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"3\">Schertz police said the explosion came from a package in the sorting area of the facility.\u00a0One person was treated by medical teams and released at the scene, the police said in a posting on its Facebook page.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"3\">A law enforcement source said that police were investigating whether the explosion was related to the other four in Austin, which have killed two people and injured others. That \u201cis definitely a concern of ours,\u201d said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the latest incident.\u00a0The FBI and ATF were at the scene.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/b2921178-2c2a-11e8-8dc9-3b51e028b845\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5 data-elm-loc=\"6\">While authorities scrambled for clues, another package exploded at a Texas FedEx facility on March 20.\u00a0(WOAI\/KABB)<\/h5>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"6\">A statement from FedEx said a \u201csingle package\u201d exploded at a FedEx sorting facility.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"7\">\u201cOne team member is being treated for minor injuries,\u201d said the statement. \u201cWe are working closely with law enforcement in their investigation.\u00a0 We are not providing any additional specific information about this package at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"7\">The incident happened as\u00a0investigators\u00a0scrambled for clues at the scene of another mysterious explosion Sunday in Austin, the fourth in a string of attacks in the city this month. Authorities believe they are the work of a\u00a0sophisticated \u201cserial bomber\u201d who has been terrorizing Austin with increasingly complex devices.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"9\">Investigators in Texas have not linked the blasts there to any particular individual or organization.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"10\">Sunday\u2019s\u00a0blast in Austin, which injured two men walking through a residential area, marked an escalation in both the tactics and skills displayed\u00a0by the bomber or bombers, police said.\u00a0While the three previous devices were hidden in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-nation\/wp\/2018\/03\/13\/austin-police-search-for-bombing-motive-say-explosives-made-with-skill-and-sophistication\/?utm_term=.0a8627497297\">packages delivered to homes in residential neighborhoods<\/a>, the fourth device\u00a0\u2014 anchored to a for-sale sign\u00a0\u2014 was left on the side of the road and was rigged with a tripwire, showing \u201ca higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill,\u201d said Brian Manley, the interim Austin police chief.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"11\">\u201cWhat we have seen now is a significant change from what appeared to be three very-targeted attacks to what was, last night, an attack that would have hit a random victim that happened to walk by,\u201d Manley said at a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KXANnews\/videos\/10155755953743037\/\">news briefing<\/a>\u00a0Monday. \u201cSo we\u2019ve definitely seen a change in the method.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"11\">Investigators were just beginning to probe the reported explosion at the FedEx facility. So no information was available about the type of blast or device involved.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"14\">Parcel bombs have been detected before in apparent terrorist-linked plots attempting to use delivery services such as FedEx.\u00a0In 2010, two packages containing plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism were found during transit on two cargo flights bound for the United States. One was discovered in Dubai, and the other at East Midlands Airport in Britain. The explosive devices\u00a0\u2014 hidden in printer cartridges \u2014 were originally shipped from Yemen. Later, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"15\">The fourth device in Austin had\u00a0\u201csimilarities\u201d to the three bombs that detonated in the Texas capital in the past three weeks, killing two people and injuring two others, one seriously, Manley said. The\u00a0explosion Sunday night plunged the city further into a\u00a0frightening\u00a0uncertainty that has left\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-nation\/wp\/2018\/03\/14\/who-did-this-and-why-austin-remains-tense-after-deadly-bombings-as-police-look-for-answers\/\">residents on edge<\/a>.\u00a0Authorities have seemed vexed, completely at a loss to explain who could be setting off the devices\u00a0\u2014 or why\u00a0\u2014 and asking the unknown attacker to communicate with them. They also have offered rewards of up to $115,000 for information in the case.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"15\">The first three explosives all\u00a0hit eastern Austin, affecting areas where black and Hispanic residents live, prompting some to question\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/exploding-packages-tap-into-simmering-tensions-over-austins-racial-segregation\/2018\/03\/15\/595a7b24-28a4-11e8-874b-d517e912f125_story.html?utm_term=.ef00f52403a3\">whether the initial blast on March 2 would have prompted more urgency<\/a>\u00a0had\u00a0it gone off in a more affluent, predominantly white neighborhood\u00a0\u2014 like where the attack Sunday night happened, injuring two white men.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"17\">\u201cThis is a public threat,\u201d\u00a0Nelson Linder, president of NAACP\u2019s Austin chapter, said Monday. \u201cNow that the geography has changed, it\u2019s going to widen people\u2019s perspectives. Nobody can take this lightly; we\u2019re all vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"18\">Linder added: \u201cLike they tell us in the military, when you walk, look down at where you\u2019re walking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/8aa2c034-272c-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5 data-elm-loc=\"18\">(Zoeann Murphy\/The Washington Post)<\/h5>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"20\">Police have declined to describe the bombs in detail, saying only that they appear to be\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-nation\/wp\/2018\/03\/13\/austin-police-search-for-bombing-motive-say-explosives-made-with-skill-and-sophistication\/?utm_term=.0a8627497297\">the sophisticated work<\/a>\u00a0of a person or people who know what they are doing\u00a0\u2014 and noting that the bombmaker has been\u00a0able to assemble and deliver the\u00a0devices without setting them off. After telling residents to remain wary of unexpected or suspicious packages, authorities now are urging broader caution.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"20\">\u201cWe\u2019re even more concerned now that if people see something suspicious, they just stay away from it altogether and contact law enforcement,\u201d\u00a0said Fred Milanowski, special agent in charge of the Houston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. \u201cBecause if they move that package or if they step on that tripwire, it\u2019s likely to detonate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"22\">Milanowski said\u00a0bombs using tripwires are activated when any pressure is applied to the wires, and he said that can include people \u201ctripping over it or picking up the package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"24\">Investigators have said the attacks might have been\u00a0motivated by racial bias, since the previous explosions killed two black people and wounded a Hispanic woman, though they acknowledged that this is just one theory. The explosion Sunday injured two white men \u2014 one 22, the other 23 \u2014 walking through Travis Country, a wealthy neighborhood in southwest Austin, far from the other three attacks.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"25\">The men were taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, and Manley said they were in stable condition Monday.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"26\">\u201cWith this tripwire, this changes things,\u201d\u00a0said Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s San Antonio office. \u201cIt\u2019s more sophisticated. It\u2019s not targeted to individuals. We\u2019re very concerned that with tripwires, a child could be walking down the sidewalk and hit something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"27\">Combs said the bureau had brought in more than 350 special agents to help with the investigation, describing it as an \u201cunprecedented response.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"27\">Dan Defenbaugh, a former FBI official who spent decades investigating bomb cases, said the use of a tripwire Sunday \u201cdramatically changes the tactics involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"30\">The shift in method \u2014 from a bomb targeting an individual or their family to a device that could kill a random\u00a0passerby \u2014 evokes past attacks that created climates of fear, such as the Washington-area sniper shootings that gripped the D.C. region for weeks in 2002 as victims were shot at random. And, as during the Unabomber\u2019s campaign of sending explosives through the mail, the Austin attacks thus far defy explanation and have come without any threat or warning.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"31\">\u201cOnce a bomb builder makes a device, they usually make it the same way each and every time,\u201d said Defenbaugh, who managed the Oklahoma City bombing investigation. \u201cThat\u2019s not happening here. I\u2019m also troubled by the fact that there hasn\u2019t been an extortion demand or communication.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"32\">Defenbaugh praised federal law enforcement agencies for flooding the Austin area with hundreds of agents, but said all those personnel will need to be closely managed to ensure key tips don\u2019t slip through the cracks. In the Oklahoma City bombing case, he noted, investigators gathered 1.8 million hotel records alone. The FBI is sending profilers from Quantico, Va., as well as investigative specialists and emergency response personnel from the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"33\">\u201cIt\u2019s a huge, complex effort,\u201d Defenbaugh\u00a0said, adding that investigators have two things working in their favor so far. First, ATF bomb experts are examining the remnants of the devices, which could offer significant clues to how they were made and by whom. Second, he said, no details of the bombs\u2019 construction have become public, which enables investigators to quickly eliminate any tips involving bombs made using different materials.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"34\">\u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s on the minds of a lot of law enforcement that they have a serial killer on their hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"35\">Many in the neighborhood where the fourth device detonated said they felt removed from the terror that had shaken other parts of town\u00a0\u2014 until Sunday.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"36\">\u201cIt appears that no one is safe, and I\u2019m very fearful for our community,\u201d said Richard Herrington, 75, who was watching the NCAA men\u2019s basketball tournament when he heard the explosion Sunday night. \u201cIt\u2019s very concerning that this person is becoming more sophisticated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"37\">Ellen Troxclair, an\u00a0Austin City Council member who represents the district where the Sunday explosion occurred, said she was shocked by seeing the blast there.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"38\">\u201cThe tripwire definitely instilled some fear into this neighborhood,\u201d she said. \u201cThey just want to know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"39\">When the blast detonated Sunday,\u00a0Eliza May said she heard a sound akin to \u201cwhen the generators go out, but like five times louder.\u201d May said she was ordered to stay in her home Monday morning and was given permission to work there, but she found herself unable to concentrate.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"40\">\u201cThis thing is overwhelming,\u201d she said. \u201cMy house is a crime scene. I can see the FBI right now\u00a0\u2014 they\u2019re in hazmat suits, walking in a line down the street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"42\">The explosions have effectively occurred in a ring outside of Austin\u2019s core, which includes downtown, the Texas capitol and the University of Texas. The first\u00a0two bombs were both deadly: Anthony Stephan House, a 39-year-old construction worker, was killed March 2. Then, 10 days later, Draylen Mason, a 17-year-old high school student, was killed in an explosion that injured his mother.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"43\">House and Mason\u00a0were both related to prominent members of Austin\u2019s African American community, and they had family members who are close, raising fears that their race or familial connections might have played a role in the attacks.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"44\">Just hours after Mason was killed, a third bomb went off, seriously injuring Esperanza Herrera, a 75-year-old Hispanic woman who was visiting her mother. But that blast puzzled investigators because it was addressed to a different home and apparently exploded when Herrera was carrying it, according to two people familiar with the case.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"44\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-20-at-8.36.08-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-96880\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-20-at-8.36.08-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-20-at-8.36.08-AM.png 832w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-20-at-8.36.08-AM-300x203.png 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-20-at-8.36.08-AM-768x521.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"46\">Police had initially described the explosion that killed House as an isolated incident, though they\u00a0changed course 10 days later when the additional bombs detonated. Manley said Monday that police still do not have evidence leading them to a particular suspect, and he reiterated his plea to the public for tips and information.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"47\">Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a telephone interview Monday that \u201cwith each additional event, the horrible part is that people are getting hurt.\u201d But, he added, \u201cit also means that law enforcement folks get additional forensic evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"48\">The explosion Sunday went off just hours after\u00a0the Austin police\u00a0made a public appeal in the case, increasing the reward for information to $100,000 and addressing the bomber or bombers in particular. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has also offered another $15,000 for information.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"49\">\u201cThese events in Austin have garnered worldwide attention,\u201d Manley said during\u00a0the earlier announcement. \u201cAnd we assure you that we are listening. We want to understand what brought you to this point, and we want to listen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"50\"><em>Mark Berman, Devlin Barrett and Meagan Flynn reported from Washington. Evab Ruth Moravec reported from Austin. Brian Murphy and Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report, which has been updated.<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"50\">___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2018\/03\/20\/package-believed-to-be-bound-for-austin-explodes-at-texas-fedex-facility-police-say\/?utm_term=.63eb31237eba\">http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2018\/03\/20\/package-believed-to-be-bound-for-austin-explodes-at-texas-fedex-facility-police-say\/?utm_term=.63eb31237eba<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Package believed bound for Austin explodes at Texas FedEx facility, police say<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}