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Police say tripwire caused latest Austin blast

Posted at 6:15 AM, Mar 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-19 09:15:10-04

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Latest on a fourth recent explosion in Austin, Texas (all times local):
8 a.m.

Austin's police chief says the latest bombing to hit the city was detonated by a tripwire, "showing a different level of skill."

Police Chief Brian Manley told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday that both of the men injured in Sunday night's blast are white, unlike the victims in the city's three previous bombings this month, who were black or Hispanic.

Sunday night's explosion happened in the southwestern Austin residential neighborhood of Travis Country. The three previous bombings happened two-plus weeks in residential neighborhoods east of Interstate 35, which divides the city.

Authorities have warned Travis Country residents to remain indoors until 10 a.m. as police scour the area for anything suspicious.

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7:25 a.m.

Police have warned residents near the site of the latest explosion in Austin to remain indoors and to call 911 if they need to leave home before 10 a.m.

Authorities say Sunday night's explosion in the Travis Country neighborhood in southwestern Austin injured two men and may have been triggered by a tripwire. The police chief repeated his warning to residents not to touch or approach suspicious packages.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the blast is related to three package bombings this month in other parts of the city that killed two people and injured two others.

Austin's school district announced that buses wouldn't be going into the Travis Country neighborhood.
Authorities had already offered $115,000 in rewards for information leading to an arrest in the first three bombings.