A suspicious package found at a FedEx facility west of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Tuesday morning is, in fact, a bomb, U.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett told KVUE's media partners at the Austin-American Statesman.
This is the second bomb found at a FedEx location in Central Texas on March 20. During the early morning hours Tuesday, a package detonated on a conveyor belt at a FedEx in Schertz, Texas, 65 miles southwest of Austin. Investigators said the bomb had nails and shrapnel in it.
“They’re trying to figure out how to open the package without destroying it,” Doggett, who had been briefed on the Southeast Austin investigation by federal officials, told the Statesman.
Austin police said they were called in at 6:19 a.m. Tuesday, March 20 to the FedEx Ground location in the 4100 block of McKinney Falls Parkway in Austin for a suspicious package call. APD, along with the FBI and the ATF, responded. It was determined the package contained an explosive device and was disrupted by law enforcement. No injuries were reported.
Employees told KVUE's Jay Wallis the building was evacuated while officials secured the scene.
Austin Senior Police Officer Destiny Winston said officers found a suspicious package at the FedEx; and as a result, the bomb squad and the department's federal law enforcement partners were called in to assist.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said the investigation at the FedEx did not impact trips to and from the city; however, they did suggest that travelers take extra time to arrive at the airport.
Winston said because of the previous suspicious package calls in Austin that killed two people and injured others, the agencies would remain on scene as a precautionary measure.
"If you see anything out of the ordinary or anything suspicious, we are asking that you call 911 immediately," Winston said.
Police would not elaborate on the specifics of the investigation or if it's related to the confirmed explosion at a FedEx distribution center in Schertz. Officer Winston could not confirm if the rumors were true that the suspicious package at the FedEx location in Austin would be detonated in the parking lot.
While investigators said it's believed the Schertz explosion is connected to the string of violent explosions that have rocked the Austin area since March 2, they haven't confirmed if the bomb at the McKinney Falls Parkway FedEx location is connected.
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