RAW: Round Rock,TX, scene where suspect in Austin bombing may have died

(RNN) – A suspect in the Austin bombings blew himself up as police closed in on him, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said in a news conference Wednesday morning.

During an investigation, "a person of interest moved to being a suspect," Manley said. The police chief identified him as a 24-year-old male. 

But the city of Austin cannot breathe a sigh of relief yet, as law enforcement officials are concerned that there may be additional devices in the community, Christopher Coombs of the FBI said.

Through teamwork with state and federal official, "We ultimately located a vehicle that the suspect was driving at a hotel in Round Rock" Wednesday night, Manley said.

Multiple law enforcement officials took position around the hotel. While waiting for tactical vehicles to arrive so that the suspect could be safely apprehended, the suspect's vehicle drove away and police followed, Manley said.

He then pulled off the road onto the frontage road.

As members of law enforcement approached his vehicle, he blew it up, the chief said. A law enforcement officer was injured in the explosion, knocked back by the blast.

Another law enforcement member discharged his weapon.

The suspect cannot be identified at this time because he was extensively damaged during the explosion and cannot yet be positively identified, Manley said.

"We do not understand what motivated him to do what he did," Manley said, nor do they know if he worked alone or with accomplices.

Manley said authorities were able to discern similarities between the bombs.

Local media reports indicate police attempted to arrest a suspect in the Austin, TX, bombings early Wednesday, with some reports saying the suspect died.

A high-ranking law enforcement source told the Austin Statesman that the male suspect blew himself up as police closed in on him.

In a tweet at 5:30 a.m. ET, the Houston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said officials are at the scene with police and FBI agents.

The Austin Police Department tweeted early Wednesday morning that they were working an officer-involved shooting in Round Rock, TX, a city about 19 miles from Austin.

The sequence of events is not yet clear. There is reports from local media that a device detonated; then shots were fired. 

Police reportedly used a blend of security video, cell phone technology and receipts to track down the suspect. 

The suspect is believed to be involved in a series of bombings in and near Austin, TX, that took place from March 2 to March 20.

Two people lost their lives and five others suffered injuries in the incidents.

A package bomb killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House on March 2 at his home and another package bomb claimed the life of 17-year-old Draylen Mason at his mother's home on March 12.

The blast also injured Mason's mother.

The third package bomb detonated a few hours later on March 12 and left one person injured.

A tripwire-activated bomb detonated near a road in Travis County on March 18 and injured two people. Those victims are expected to fully recover.

The fifth device, another package bomb, exploded in a FedEx ground facility in Schertz, TX, on March 20 and injured one person. FedEx confirmed that the person responsible for sending it also shipped a second package, a sixth device.

It was secured in in a FedEx facility near the Austin airport and turned over to law enforcement.

Authorities originally believed the attacks could be racially motivated, but the fourth bomb appeared random, rather than targeted, the Associated Press reported.

Police responded to another incident, initially reported as a seventh bomb, March 20, but determined instead that an incendiary device had "initiated" at an Austin Goodwill, injuring one employee. Police said they believed the incident was unrelated.

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