How long before they capture the Austin Texas bomber?

[malaise]

This is serious

[unblock]

1. it only took them 18 years to catch the unabomber.

hopefully this one is wrapped up much faster....

[malaise]

3. LOL

Indeed

[malaise]

19. Given the amount on info on our online shopping habits, the presence of cameras and

Last edited Wed Mar 21, 2018, 03:59 PM - Edit history (1)

our addiction to cell phones, the unabomber would have been caught much faster today.
This idiot who thought he was as smart as the Zodiac killer ordered an unusual battery and that was that.

[unblock]

20. valid points in general, though the unabomber might be an exception

he was very much off the grid as well as very methodical and deliberate. I think he would have done what he had to do to remain elusive.

in any event, i'm glad this latest guy was caught.

[malaise]

21. It was easier to stay off the grid back then

Now they know what we buy and where we buy it.
Yep really glad they caught him.

[unblock]

22. as long as people still take cash, it's still possible to remain elusive.

someday merchants might start charging a premium to deal with cash, then it starts becoming harder to stay fully off the grid.

[malaise]

23. Valid point

[dalton99a]

2. 'We are clearly dealing with a serial bomber,' police say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deadly-austin-bombings-were-meant-send-message-police-chief-says-n857786

"We are clearly dealing with a serial bomber," Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said, but said he couldn't answer questions from reporters about whether it could be considered domestic terrorism. "We will have to determine if we see a specific ideology behind this."

The latest blast occurred Sunday just after 8:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. ET), when two bicyclists received non-life-threatening injuries after apparently setting off a tripwire in the southwest of the city. Until now, none of the recent explosions had utilized a tripwire.

The FBI has sent 350 special agents to the Texas capital as well as extra bomb squads.

"With this tripwire, this changes things," said Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio division. "It's more sophisticated, it's not targeted to individuals ... a child could be walking down a sidewalk and hit something."

[Takket]

12. Trip wire is pretty complicated

This isn't some punk ass kid that was radicalized and build a cheap pipe bomb. This is someone with experience and a bone to pick. Military perhaps?

[dalton99a]

13. Talking heads are guessing local white guy with explosives and electronics experience

with a good day job - not high school or college age

[jmowreader]

24. Trip wire is two screws, a clothespin, some fishing line and a little piece of cardboard

I'm not going to put the instructions here because DU doesn't need to become a bomb-making forum, but a tripwire is easy to rig up.

[liberalhistorian]

15. I'm not understanding why it wouldn't be

considered domestic terrorism. Am I missing something?

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. A goal.

It isn't terrorism until there's some kind of ideological or political goal behind the killings.

[chelsea0011]

4. You would think security video will show up fairly soon.

[melm00se]

5. If you act alone

and never talk about your crime to anyone, the likelihood of getting caught goes way down.

The unabomber was only caught because his brother read his manifesto and blew him into the FBI. No manifesto = no t busted.

[Tipperary]

6. Were the latest victims white? Just curious since the others were not.

[B2G]

7. Yes. And it appears totally random and not targeted. nt

[malaise]

8. Yep

Confuses matter even more - victims have been African-American, Hispanic and now white.

[B2G]

9. Not every crime is racially motivated.

Of course we always go there first.

Some evil people just get their rocks off killing and maiming other people, race be damned.

[malaise]

10. True n/t

[Tipperary]

11. Yes indeed. And a great way to mislead authorities right off the bat.

[LanternWaste]

18. And of course, dismissing race as a motive allows even other people to "get their rocks off."

And of course, dismissing race as a motive, predicated entirely on "it looks random to me" allows others to "get their rocks off" as well...

[MichMary]

14. Such completely different MOs

makes me wonder if there are two bombers. Highly unlikely, I know, but the other ones seemed to be targeted and this one is completely random. Also--the tripwire thing takes it to a whole different level of expertise.

[Lee-Lee]

16. Could be in the next hour. Could be never

There are a ton of actors at play.

Sooner or later, if he keeps up, his luck will give out. He will make a mistake that leaves a fingerprint or DNA. He will be seen by a witness or on a camera.

But it will take a ton of work to catch those mistakes early. Like watching thousands of hours of video footage even from roads far from the areas to try and see if any vehicles are there often. Interviewing witnesses even who were nowhere nearby for the most seemingly insignificant things that may connect dots. Collecting every piece of residue from the devices and trying to see what each of the pieces was by slowly reconstructing them.