AUSTIN, Texas – Federal investigators continue to piece together clues as they work toward finding the person or people responsible for this month's three package explosions across Austin.
While investigators have left the scene of the second bombing near Springdale Rd. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, crime scene tape remains tied around the porch post of the home from the second blast, which happened around 6:44 a.m. Monday. The first was at 6:55 a.m. near Howard Ln. and Harris Ridge Blvd. on March 2.
"It makes no sense," said Jesse Washington, who lives next door to the second bombing scene.
Washington said he went to school with the grandmother who owns the home, and his daughter is good friends with the victim's mother, who was injured in the blast.
"They're friends, you know," Washington said. "We have been neighbors. You know what the word neighbor means?"
Draylen Mason, 17, was killed in Monday's explosion. Police said a woman, identified by Washington and other neighbors as Mason's mother, is hospitalized in stable condition.
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Investigators may be gone, but the community feels the threat has not.
"Unfortunately, due to the first incident not being presented properly, we lost 10 valuable days," said Nelson Linder, president of the Austin NAACP. "We had to recover pretty fast. We've reached a lot of folks now. Word is out now, but we can do more still."
Linder said that includes continuing the message of checking every package twice and calling 911 if it looks out of sorts or is unexpected. The entire community is hoping investigators will find who's responsible.
"Who is the person who's doing this kind of stuff?" Linder asked. "They are very angry; they are very dangerous but are well-equipped. They are very focused."
Washington said looks can be deceiving on his street.
"It looks normal, but we know it's not because that family is devastated," he said.
Police said the victim from the third blast, which occurred around 11:50 a.m. Monday near Montopolis Dr. and Riverside Dr., was in critical condition. She was described as a 75-year-old Hispanic woman.