AUSTIN -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday announced two grants to assist in the investigation of four explosions throughout the month of March that have so far killed two people.
Abbott said a $160,000 grant from the Criminal Justice Division will be provided to the City of Austin for bomb detection equipment, as well as a $105,000 grant for three scanning devices for the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist in the process.
The governor said the State of Texas is also offering 100 troops, 10 sergeants, and a number of DPS special agents to assist the City of Austin, as well as a Texas Ranger bomb squad, bomb detecting canines, intelligence analysts, and helicopters to help patrol the streets.
"We, the State of Texas through the Texas Department of Public Safety, are providing every personnel and resource and tool available to assist the City of Austin to make sure we get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible before anyone else is harmed," said Gov. Abbott.
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Gov. Abbott reported the money for these grants comes comes from Criminal Justice Division -- money previously awarded to the State of Texas to provide funding for projects like this.
On March 18, the Austin Police Department reported more than 500 federal agents are assisting in the investigation, 435 leads have been called in, 236 individuals have been interviewed, and 735 suspicious package calls have been responded to. Police said they will continue to follow up on every lead and will leave no stone unturned. By Monday, the number of suspicious package calls had grown to 849.
"There are probably more law enforcement officers per capita in Austin than there has ever been before," Gov. Abbott reported. " It includes the very best from across the nation who deal with bombing incidents like this."
Abbott urged everyone who sees a suspicious item like a package, box or backpack, not to pick it up and to call police to report it.
"This is one of the most serious, as well as puzzling, situations that we've been involved with," Gov. Abbott said.
Altogether, Gov. Abbott said there is between 500 and 1,000 people working on this particular crime.
"This is one of the most important criminal justice-based issues in the entire country right now, and so we know when we have that many resources working on this, we will get to the bottom of it pretty quickly," said Gov. Abbott.
The governor said that people realize that if something like this can happen in Austin, it can happen anywhere.
"That is one reason why the concerns about it permeate across the entire country, but it is also a reason why the entire country is galvanizing resources right here in Austin to make sure we solve this crime as quickly as possible," he said.
Police responded to the fourth explosion Sunday around 8:30 p.m. near the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive in southwest Austin, where residents of the Travis Country neighborhood were asked to stay indoors until 2 p.m. while experts cleared the area. Officials reported two men in their 20s were injured and are expected to be OK. It is believed that the explosion was triggered by a tripwire, police said.
The first explosion occurred on March 2, killing 39-year-old Anthony House. The second and third occurred on March 12, killing 17-year-old Draylen Mason and critically injuring 75-year-old Esperanza "Hope" Herrera. Police said these three appeared to be disguised as packages.
Gov. Abbott said Mason is a grandson of a docent at the governor's mansion.
"It was such a tragedy and so sad," said Gov. Abbott. "He had the best of his life ahead of him. He was headed off to the University of Texas, he was a fabulous musician, and he was going to be performing here at South by Southwest, and there could not be a sadder tragedy."
Gov. Abbott said on March 12 that the Office of the Governor's Criminal Justice Division would be offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects involved. To be eligible for this reward, tips must be made to Texas Crime Stoppers in one of the following ways:
- Call the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477)
- Text the letters "DPS" followed by your tip to 274637 (CRIMES)
- Submit a web tip through the website
- Submit a tip through the DPS Mobile App
The Austin Police Department is also offering up to $100,000 for more information. Tips to the APD can be made by calling 512-472-TIPS (8477).
According to the Office of the Governor, the office has provided nearly $1 million to the City of Austin to enhance the capabilities of the Austin Police Department’s Bomb Squad over the past two years. Purchases under these grants include bomb disposal robots, robotic arms and bomb suits allowing technicians to safely approach potentially explosive devices to declare them safe.
