Austin Police Warn of "Serial Bomber" With Considerable Skill; Warn Residents of Nearby Area to Stay Indoors Whenever Possible

Serial killer.

Two people were wounded in an explosion Sunday night in Austin that showed similarities to other recent blasts but also "a higher level of skill."

The victims -- two white men ages 23 and 22 —--were wounded about 8:30 p.m. as they walked along the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive, southwest of downtown Austin. Their injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

Interim police Chief Brian Manley said authorities believe the pair were walking on either the sidewalk or the median when the device was triggered by a trip wire.

"That changes things," he said at an overnight news conference. "Our safety message to this point has been involving the handling of packages, and telling this community, 'Do not handle packages, do not pick up packages, do not disturb packages.'

"We now need to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device, whether it be a package, a bag, a backpack -- anything that looks out of place - -and please do not approach it."

I don't know that a trip wire indicates a "higher level of skill" -- isn't there a small tripwire in a package bomb that detonates the bomb when a flap of the box is opened? -- but obviously this guy makes bombs and isn't going to stop until he's caught or is hoist upon one of his own homebrew petards.

This is a description of the tripwire, btw:

Frederick Milanowski, special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said that the bomb was anchored to a metal sign near a hiking trail and triggered by a wire as thin as fishing line that would've been incredibly difficult to see.

Again, that doesn't sound that sophisticated to me, but what do I know.

It strikes me as possibly interesting that the bomber has apparently stopped leaving bombs in neighborhoods and is instead now leaving bombs on hiking trails -- where he would be less likely to be seen. I suppose that means he's aware people are looking for him, though I'm not sure that helps catch him any.

This article has a map of the bombing sites. It notes the latest bomb is the first to be left to the west of highway 35, though (not being from Austin) I don't know the significance of that.

If any amateur profilers and/or Austin residents want to inform us what the bomb locations may suggest, please do.

PS, there's a $115,000 in total rewards for helping catch this guy, so. Thinking caps on!

Warn Residents of Nearby Area to Stay Indoors Whenever Possible&bodytext=Serial killer. Two people were wounded in an explosion Sunday night in Austin that showed similarities to other recent blasts but also "a higher level of skill." The victims -- two white men ages 23 and 22 —--were wounded about...&topic=world_news"> posted by Ace of Spades at 05:13 PM

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