Second Package Sent By Bomber Found in Austin-Area Fedex Facility; Investigators Think They've ID'd the Store From Which the Package Was Sent

As you all know, an explosive device "bound for Austin" and probably also sent from near Austin (my guess) blew up as it was being jostled riding the conveyer belts in the Schertz, TX Fedex facility. The bomb was packed with nails and injured a Fedex worker.

Early reports also mentioned a second unexploded "device," or bomb, sent by the same person being found. That appears to have been a misstatement by police.

But the 1:05pm update from this Texas paper (which I assume is 2:05 east coast) says Fedex has confirmed a second package sent by the same person who sent the bomb.

Not a bomb, but a package, which is almost as useful to any investigation.

If this turns out to be true, I think this guy will be identified. If you can figure out when and where this was sent, you know where the bomber was at a specific time, and I'm thinking that there will be traffic cameras and other cameras that will have caught vehicles going to and from the store, and of course Fedex workers may be able to supply a physical description. (I assume he didn't present them with his real name or address.)

Investigators seem to have located the Fedex store that shipped the package(s) -- the Fedex store in the Sunset Valley suburb of Austin, and are investigating the location. That via FoxNews TV.

I think this guy is in trouble.

More: Commenters are saying that UPS and Fedex all have video surveillance of their stores and counters, so this guy (likely in some kind of light disguise) is probably on video, too.

Even assuming light disguise, we'd be able to get sex, race, age range, approximate height and weight, etc. Add that to the fact that he almost certainly knows the black and Hispanic neighborhoods well (serial killers prefer hunting in areas they're familiar with) and police will have some good information to work with.

Notice that when he felt the heat putting bombs in some neighborhoods (feeling like people were on the lookout, etc.), he didn't just switch over to other neighborhoods. He changed tactics completely, putting one bomb on a hiking trail far from (most) prying eyes, and then changed tactics again, risking going to a Fedex store to mail the packages from Austin right back to Austin.

That suggests that he is probably like the usual serial killer who hunts in areas he knows well but is afraid to hunt in other areas.

It's also possible, of course, that he just abandoned the leave-the-package-on-the-doorstep completely, so we can't read much into his preference of neighborhoods to leave bombs in.

But then, he could have just gone 15 minutes outside of Austin to a suburb to try the leave-the-package-at-the-house trick. He didn't. He just does not seem comfortable outside of certain areas of Austin.

Anyway, his career as a serial bomber is probably drawing to a close.

More: Commenters are pointing out there are ways to drop off packages at a drop-box without having to go into the Fedex store. So maybe no video of the guy. But still, even assuming he did this, you'd have a range of times at which he could have dropped off the package, and traffic cameras can still pick up some likely vehicles.

Though then you have a lot less, and lot more traffic camera footage to go through, and a lot of cars you'd just guess might be that of the bomber.

Actually, if he did this, I guess you wouldn't have much at all.

posted by Ace of Spades at 03:15 PM

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