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Police say bombs caused two Austin blasts

Posted at 11:10 AM, Mar 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-12 16:25:34-04

UPDATE: (AP) --   Austin's police chief says package bombs caused both explosions in Texas' capital city on Monday, making it three this month.

Police Chief Brian Manley said at a news conference that the latest bombing injured a 75-year-old Hispanic woman.

Manley says investigators believe that attack and one earlier Monday that killed a 17-year-old boy and injured a woman in her 40s are linked to a March 2 package bombing that killed a 39-year-old man in another neighborhood.

The chief said earlier that investigators were considering whether the attacks could be race-related because the first three victims were all black. He says they aren't ruling anything out, but they are no longer "making the connection to a hate crime."

EARLIER: 

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a package that exploded inside of an Austin home on Monday, killing a teenager and wounding a woman, is believed to be linked to a deadly package sent to another home in Texas' capital city earlier this month.

Austin police Chief Brian Manley said at a news conference that investigators believe the attacks are linked because in each case, the package bombs were left on the victims' front doorsteps and not delivered by a mail service. He said the U.S. Postal Service doesn't have a record of delivering a package to the Austin home where the explosion occurred Monday. He said that package was brought into the kitchen where it detonated, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring the woman.

Manley said investigators believe the explosion is linked to a similar blast that killed a 39-year-old man on March 2. That explosion occurred about 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of Monday's blast. Both explosions occurred in the early-morning hours.

The chief said all of the victims have been black and that investigators are considering whether race could have factored into the attacks.

The FBI is helping Austin police in the investigation.