two explosions in austin 3/12/18 (Pittsburg, Anthony: sex offender, homes, homeschooling)

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by cBach

...
We still don't know motive, details about the person, what trail of evidence led the detectives to that motel in Round Rock, etc... It just seems like although there are CNN & FOX news trucks there, most of the details are rehashed re-canned details that everyone is reporting. I don't hear any actual details of what detective work was involved.

If it's truly over, they should be able to release the information. Ah what I wouldn't do for 1990's news reporting.

I think I read in WSJ or somewhere that law enforcement fanned out to stores that sell the ingredients and contents of the bombs and were already making headway with that when he showed up at the shipping store and was caught on camera. Yesterday during all of that I thing they already knew who he was.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by cBach

Is it me or is something just not adding up about this story? It seems a bit Lee Harvey Oswaldish, where police wanted a suspect "taken out" so they can calm the community back down? I have no doubt that guy was involved, but the resolution seems too "pretty". Usually these cases take months to get to the bottom of.

We still don't know motive, details about the person, what trail of evidence led the detectives to that motel in Round Rock, etc... It just seems like although there are CNN & FOX news trucks there, most of the details are rehashed re-canned details that everyone is reporting. I don't hear any actual details of what detective work was involved.

If it's truly over, they should be able to release the information. Ah what I wouldn't do for 1990's news reporting.

It seems to be covered pretty well here. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/u...s-suspect.html

I would like to hear the recording: Austin bomber recorded 25-minute 'confession' to his deadly crimes, police say | Fox News

If there is anything unusual about this young man it is that nothing so far about his history would seem to explain why he started planting bombs and killing people. The only red flag so far is that he was let go from his job last August for "failing to meet expectations". Again the recording he left behind could explain some of this.

[Trainwreck20]

I think that the power and reach of the FBI was a bit on display. What I have read and also heard (from people with more access than me) is that:

a) The fragments of bombs (and the unexploded bomb at the airport) allowed them to figure out what the main components used in the bomb were. In particular, it sounds like the batteries used were carried in multiple places but rarely sold and only in small quantities. They FBI accessed the sales records from all the stores in the area and that apparently resulted in a short list (maybe only him?) of people that had bought any significant quantity in the relevant time period (not sure what that was). Presumably, they were bought with credit card. I don't know if other ingredients were searched in a similar manner; however, with the amount of data accessible online, this is much quicker than it has ever been before.

b) I also understand that they were doing a massive cell-phone tower 'ping' analysis - the FBI knew approximate time periods in which all the bombs were placed, and could access all the pings to the tower during those time periods. Massive amounts of data, but the sites are relatively scattered and the number of cell phones that pinged all of those towers during the relevant periods was likely very small - again, possibly just one phone or very close to it, assuming that this mechanism was used and worked. I have not seen anything released related to this, but it seems plausible and came from a relatively informed person. In this regard, the bomber may have led the police to him by spreading out his attacks and making his phone trail 'unique'.

c) I am not sure what exactly they got from the FedEx store (I assume his actual image was not useful), but they have indicated that was very important. I wonder what the paperwork had, or whether they managed to get an image of his license plate (some people have surmised the exterior cameras at Mighty Fine might have captured it).

d) They did say they located him by locating his actual phone signal.

e) The sales information was apparently enough info to get a warrant for his IP address and retrieve his online search history(ies), which corroborated his 'interests'.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

It seems to be covered pretty well here. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/u...s-suspect.html

I would like to hear the recording: Austin bomber recorded 25-minute 'confession' to his deadly crimes, police say | Fox News

If there is anything unusual about this young man it is that nothing so far about his history would seem to explain why he started planting bombs and killing people. The only red flag so far is that he was let go from his job last August for "failing to meet expectations". Again the recording he left behind could explain some of this.

I saw that NY Times article after I posted but before I read this. I posted before I had to go do some errands and while waiting I read the article. Yes it explains quite a bit.

Apparently he is a far right conservative. He wrote a paper on his views and the NYT got a hold of it. He believes in the death penalty (ironic?) and is against same sex marriage. He was home schooled by extremely conservative Christian parents. Not sure any of that is relevant or not.

Great information in the NYT article about how it was pieced together.

With modern technology these cases that used to take years now take weeks to solve.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I think that the power and reach of the FBI was a bit on display. What I have read and also heard (from people with more access than me) is that:

a) The fragments of bombs (and the unexploded bomb at the airport) allowed them to figure out what the main components used in the bomb were. In particular, it sounds like the batteries used were carried in multiple places but rarely sold and only in small quantities. They FBI accessed the sales records from all the stores in the area and that apparently resulted in a short list (maybe only him?) of people that had bought any significant quantity in the relevant time period (not sure what that was). Presumably, they were bought with credit card. I don't know if other ingredients were searched in a similar manner; however, with the amount of data accessible online, this is much quicker than it has ever been before.

b) I also understand that they were doing a massive cell-phone tower 'ping' analysis - the FBI knew approximate time periods in which all the bombs were placed, and could access all the pings to the tower during those time periods. Massive amounts of data, but the sites are relatively scattered and the number of cell phones that pinged all of those towers during the relevant periods was likely very small - again, possibly just one phone or very close to it, assuming that this mechanism was used and worked. I have not seen anything released related to this, but it seems plausible and came from a relatively informed person. In this regard, the bomber may have led the police to him by spreading out his attacks and making his phone trail 'unique'.

c) I am not sure what exactly they got from the FedEx store (I assume his actual image was not useful), but they have indicated that was very important. I wonder what the paperwork had, or whether they managed to get an image of his license plate (some people have surmised the exterior cameras at Mighty Fine might have captured it).

d) They did say they located him by locating his actual phone signal.

e) The sales information was apparently enough info to get a warrant for his IP address and retrieve his online search history(ies), which corroborated his 'interests'.

Great breakdown/summary!

[cBach]

The mayor said the "takeaway" was that we all need to get to know our neighbors better.

When I lived in Pittsburgh, we used to have block parties all the time in the milder weather.

When I lived in KC, we used to have a "street party" twice a year.

When I lived in Louisiana, we used to have crawfish boils where everyone from the street was invited.

Maybe we need to start having block parties and other social events in each neighborhood? The way these things should run, the street is blocked off and each person brings potluck and a few guys bust out the smoker and smoke some brisket. Alcohol needs to be allowed too so more people can attend.

I've noticed this just doesn't seem to happen in Austin like in other cities I've lived in. Maybe it's about time we start doing this?

Maybe if one person could've reached out to that guy this could've been prevented?

[Mrs.JT]

Originally Posted by cBach

The mayor said the "takeaway" was that we all need to get to know our neighbors better.

When I lived in Pittsburgh, we used to have block parties all the time in the milder weather.

When I lived in KC, we used to have a "street party" twice a year.

When I lived in Louisiana, we used to have crawfish boils where everyone from the street was invited.

Maybe we need to start having block parties and other social events in each neighborhood? The way these things should run, the street is blocked off and each person brings potluck and a few guys bust out the smoker and smoke some brisket. Alcohol needs to be allowed too so more people can attend.

I've noticed this just doesn't seem to happen in Austin like in other cities I've lived in. Maybe it's about time we start doing this?

Maybe if one person could've reached out to that guy this could've been prevented?

Maybe. But people put on strong fronts these days. So many times you hear after the fact, "But he/she attended all our kids' birthday parties...he/she was such a nice person."


I don't know what the solution is, but I feel the root cause can often be found at home.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Mrs.JT

Maybe. But people put on strong fronts these days. So many times you hear after the fact, "But he/she attended all our kids' birthday parties...he/she was such a nice person."


I don't know what the solution is, but I feel the root cause can often be found at home.

The idea is that someone that doesn't have a strong sense of community gets one, that his neighborhood "has his back". Once someone has a strong sense of community, they will not want to hurt people in their community.

It's when someone is a lone wolf and has no social support network that problems happen.

So many times we all just go about our day instead of trying to engage in nice conversation with our neighbors.

[Trainwreck20]

Eh, it varies by neighborhood - we have a crawfish boil every year hosted by a Katrina immigrant. We have a neighbor that basically 'tailgates' in his driveway with a huge TV and a grill and everyone is welcome. We know several of our neighbors very well (one was in our wedding party) and many of them enough to stop and chat when we pass. It hasn't gone away so much as it just varies from place to place.

In the regard that it is a mental health issue, I completely agree; however, I think it is more complex a 'fix' than simply being neighborly.

[Mrs.JT]

Originally Posted by cBach

The idea is that someone that doesn't have a strong sense of community gets one, that his neighborhood "has his back". Once someone has a strong sense of community, they will not want to hurt people in their community.

It's when someone is a lone wolf and has no social support network that problems happen.

So many times we all just go about our day instead of trying to engage in nice conversation with our neighbors.

I hear what you're saying.


But would a person feel like such a lone wolf if they had a strong support system at home? As Trainwreck said, this is a far more complex issue than one that can be solved simply by being friendly.