Austin struck by fourth explosion only hours after appeal to bomber

A short time later, two men in their 20s were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Service said.

The Austin police chief, Brian Manley, said at an evening news conference that the police were asking residents within a half-mile radius of the explosion to stay indoors until officers could conduct a search for bombs.

Eliza May said she was watching a TV show in her home when she heard an explosion in her backyard. “It sounded like when the transformers go out, but it was five times magnified that,” said May, who lives about 200 feet from where the explosion was said to have occurred.

Another neighbor, Lori Goodgame, said the explosion caused her house to shake. Her first thought was that lightning had hit her home. “There was a huge boom,” Goodgame said.

Moments later, dozens of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks swarmed her street, she said. Police officers ordered neighbors — who had come outside to see what happened — to return to their homes, she said.

Because the device exploded after nightfall Sunday,Manley said, the police could not fully inspect the scene and would have to wait until sunrise Monday to better examine it.

“We have not had an opportunity to really look at this blast site to determine what has happened,” Manley said at a news conference Sunday night. “It’s obvious that there’s been an explosion, and it’s obvious it’s caused significant injuries to two people.”

Manley, said the police were asking residents in a half-mile radius around the site of the explosion to stay indoors until officers could check the area for other bombs. He noted that officers were inspecting a backpack found near where the men were injured.

At a news conference before Sunday’s explosion, the Austin police made a rare public appeal for the bomber or bombers responsible for the three earlier explosions to contact the police so officials could learn more about the “message” behind the attacks.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Austin struck by fourth explosion only hours after appeal to bomber

The authorities said they responded to Dawn Song Drive after reports of an explosion around 8:30 p.m.

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