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What We Know About the Austin Bomber — and One Important Thing We Don’t

By Hollywood Gossi... on March 20, 2018

Authorities are sifting through evidence at a fifth crime scene in less than a month that police believe are connected to a serial bomber terrorizing Austin, Texas.

Residents learned Tuesday morning that an explosion rocked a FedEx distribution center outside San Antonio in Schertz, Texas. Michelle Lee, spokesperson for the FBI San Antonio field office tells PEOPLE, “We suspect it is related to our investigation” into the bombings in Austin.

NBC affiliate WOAI reported the package detonated while being transported from an upper conveyor belt to a lower one.

Here are some things we know about the bombings — and one thing we don’t.

Ex-FBI Profiler: Suspect Likely Doesn’t Live in Area

Since March 2, four other devices have exploded throughout Austin — all located in an area near Interstate 35, which connects Austin and San Antonio.

• For more on the terrifying string of bombings in Austin, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.

“He’s not offending where he lives right now because it would be a little too close to home,” James R. Fitzgerald, a retired FBI criminal profiler tells PEOPLE. “But he probably has familiarity with one or more of those areas.”

Bombs Have Killed 2 People — and Are ‘Sophisticated Devices’

On March 2, the first bomb detonated and killed Anthony House, a 39-year-old Austin resident who picked up the explosive device disguised as a package on his doorstep.

“These are sophisticated devices put together by someone who knows what he’s doing,” Fitzgerald says. “He knew not just how to design it and place it, but how to travel with it, too.”

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

The explosions continued on March 12, where 17-year-old Draylen Mason died after picking up a package and two more people were seriously injured.

Police Believe Bomber Changed His Method

On Sunday evening, it appeared the bomber changed his method when a fourth explosion was remotely detonated, possibly “by someone either handling, kicking or coming in contact with a trip wire,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said at a press conference.

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Manley added that the new method changed things because the target was random. “It’s not targeted to individuals.”

Motive Remains a Mystery

As the bomber’s scope begins to expand outside the city limits of Austin, the biggest question everyone is asking is: Why?

Authorities have not disclosed a motive.

“Most serial bombers have a message and they have a reason. Most let the media know one way or the other why they’re doing what they’re doing,” says Fitzgerald, who analyzed letters sent by Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. “It won’t make sense to most people, but it’ll make sense to him.”

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