USA: Explosion at FedEx facility near San Antonio March 20 /update 2

Event

A parcel exploded at a FedEx facility in Schertz (Texas), near San Antonio, early on Tuesday, March 20 (local time), wounding one person. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Tuesday's explosion, which took place around 00:30 and was contained in a package addressed to Austin (Texas), may be connected to four recent parcel bombings in Austin which have killed two people and wounded four others since March 2.

Austin police were alerted around 07:00 on Tuesday of another suspicious package at a FedEx facility at 4107 McKinney Falls Parkway in Austin. No other information had been released as of 09:43. Additional bombing attacks are possible in Austin and surrounding areas in the coming days and weeks. Investigations are ongoing.

Context

Austin police believe that the four previous bombings in Austin are the work of a serial bomber. If confirmed to be connected to the four prior bombings in Austin, Tuesday's explosion would represent the first instance in which the suspected serial bomber had mailed an explosive device inside a package (previous parcels had no postage and appear to have been left on victims' doorsteps without passing through the postal system).

The motive for the bombings is currently unclear, though police have not ruled out the possibility that the attacks are racially motivated hate crimes; the first three bombings, on March 2 and March 12, killed and wounded minority persons who received the parcels at their doors. However, the March 18 bombing in Austin was detonated via tripwire and wounded two white men, suggesting that the bombing was potentially indiscriminate in its target.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Congressional Black Caucus have deemed the bombings to be domestic terror incidents; the Congressional Black Caucus has called on officials to determine if the attacks are "ideologically or racially motivated."

Advice

Individuals in Austin and surrounding areas are advised to monitor the situation, report any suspicious activity or behavior to the police, and to not open any unexpected packages. Police are asking residents to call 911 if they receive a package they are not expecting or see anything suspicious.