FLORENCE, Texas -- Law enforcement officers from Central Texas are getting trained this week on how to investigate controlled detonations and bomb attacks similar to the devices officers dealt with during the Austin bombings in March.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents said more departments are asking for this type of training after the deadly bombings that happened earlier this year. Just as we saw with the Austin bomber, it's unfortunately not that difficult to make these homemade bombs or find the steps to do so. From soda bottles and paint cans to chemical cocktails, it doesn't take many materials.
This is the reasoning behind providing the education and why ATF decided to send down officers and agents to Central Texas this week. The bomb experts detonated a series of explosive devices at a Department of Public Safety (DPS) training facility in Florence, Texas. Then, the Central Texas officers not only had to look from the remnants but work to reconstruct the devices, which is a key technique in figuring out how the device was put together in the first place.
This training also gives officers a chance to work with these types of explosives in a controlled environment. The ATF agents detonated several types of bombs that included Molotov cocktails and suicide bomb vests along with explosive material like C4 and dynamite.
Even though the ATF agents are generally considered the experts in these situations, detonations are often times handled solely by local police before other agencies can even get to a scene to help. Getting this type of training to the officers on the front line can help them preserve evidence and know what to look for.