Suspected Austin bomber blows himself up

The main suspect in a series of bombings in Austin blew himself up after police tried to arrest him early on Wednesday, the chief of the city's police department has confirmed.

During a press conference, Austin police chief Brian Manley said the suspect — a 24-year-old white male — killed himself by detonating an explosive device inside his car.

The suspect is deceased and has significant injuries from a blast that occurred from detonating a bomb inside his vehicle," he told reporters.

Manley said one of his officers suffered a minor injury in the blast.

He said the suspect had been identified in the past 24 hours, based on evidence gathered after the individual allegedly sent an explosive device from a nearby FedEx shipping facility.

The suspect's name won't be released until his next of kin are notified, Manley told reporters.

Austin-based reporter Tony Plohetski, who was at the press conference, said police believed the suspect was responsible for all of the recent bombings. 

KVUE TV reported that the man was tracked down to a hotel in the nearby city of Round Rock, where police attempted to arrest him.

There were earlier conflicting reports as to whether the suspect was killed by an explosive device he detonated himself or by shots fired by police officers.

The bomber left several explosive packages around the city over the past three weeks, which killed two people and left residents in a state of panic.

The bombings began with parcels left on doorsteps, then continued with a bomb apparently set off by a tripwire on Sunday and two packages that detonated at FedEx facilities on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to law enforcement officials for their work in wrapping up the case.

mm/rt (AP, dpa, Reuters)