AUSTIN (AP) – Austin Police Chief Brian Manley is defending his department’s statements that initially downplayed the first of three package bombs that went off in the city as an isolated incident.
Manley said Tuesday that investigators at the time were working under the theory that a March 2 package bomb was related to a nearby house used to stash drugs that police busted a few days earlier.
The explosion killed a 39-year-old Austin man.
After two more explosions occured Monday, police were criticized for not warning Austin residents to be on the lookout for suspicious packages.
A second blast killed a 17-year-old teenager and a third one wounded a 75-year-old woman.
Authorities say they have received 265 calls about suspicious packages since the two explosions Monday.
None turned out to be a threat.
Copyright 2018. Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
