Police and the FBI working to crack the package bombings in Austin say they have discovered a possible link between the three victims, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Officials say the 39 year old man who was killed in the first package bombing, on March 2, was the son of a prominent East Austin Black pastor. The pastor is a close friend and associate of the grandfather of the teenager who was killed in the first of two package bombings this past Monday. The grandfather also attends the pastor's church.
And, the elderly Hispanic woman who was critically burned in Monday's second package bombing, Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder tells NBC News, lives next door to a couple with the same last name as another prominent activist African American family, and the bomber may have been trying to target that family.
The FBI says it is investigating whether there is a person who may have had a beef with those three families, or is targeting active African American families in general.
Meanwhile, the FBI and the ATF have wrapped up their investigation into the Monday bombings. So far, no arrests have been made, but Austin's 9-1-1 line has been handling hundreds of calls from individuals who are afraid of unidentified packages which have suddenly turned up. So far, no other explosive packages have been found.
Linder also expressed his frustration that the first package bombing, which happened March 2, was not immediately investigated as a possible hate crime. Austin Police say it was considered an 'isolated incident,' possibly related to drug bust earlier in the week on that same block.
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