Investigators in Austin, Texas, searched Tuesday for answers behind the string of explosive packages that detonated recently at homes around the city, describing the devices as sophisticated, while struggling to identify who sent them or why.
Authorities have looked at connections between the victims as they investigate the three explosions at three homes, which have killed two people and seriously injured two others. The two people killed in the bombings had connections -- both were related to prominent members of the city's black community and have family members who are close. A third victim had no apparent ties to them and was injured by a package addressed to someone else, according to people familiar with the investigation.
The mystery has prompted scores of residents to call 911 after seeing potentially suspicious packages, unsettling the city at a time when it is deluged by visitors for the South by Southwest Festival.
People across Austin called authorities about 150 times between Monday morning and Tuesday morning, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. Nothing dangerous was found after any of those calls, he said.
Officials have said they do not see any connection between the bombings and the festival, but they have warned of the peril caused by the bombs, with Manley saying that whoever is behind the attacks has been able to construct and deliver deadly devices without setting them off at any point in that process.
"When the victims have picked these packages up, they have at that point exploded," Manley said. "There's a certain level of skill and sophistication that whoever is doing this has."
The Washington Post could not immediately learn whether the other two packages were addressed to the homes that received them, or whether they had any markings at all. A spokesman for the Austin police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Information for this article was contributed by Eva Ruth Moravec and Shane Harris of The Washington Post.
A Section on 03/14/2018