The Austin Bombings Were Terrifying. But Were They 'Terrorism'?

Before dawn on Wednesday morning, law enforcement officers located a vehicle they said was used by the suspect in a series of fatal package bomb attacks in Austin. While local and federal officers worked to apprehend the suspect near a hotel in Round Rock, north of Austin, the suspect detonated a bomb inside his vehicle, injuring a member of the Austin Police Department SWAT team. Another officer also shot the suspect, police said.

The suspect, who police identified only as a 24-year-old white man, is dead. Since his whereabouts over the last 24 hours are still unknown, there could still be package bombs at large, and an investigation is still underway. “We do not understand what motivated him to do what he did,” Austin Police Department chief Brian Manley said in a briefing.