Trump: 'Sick people' behind Texas bombings must be found 'immediately'

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the "sick" perpetrators behind a string of bombings in Texas had to be found "immediately," lamenting the "terrible" recent blasts that have alarmed the state.

"These are sick people and we have to find them as soon as possible," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. "We have to find them really immediately."


A package exploded at a FedEx facility near San Antonio early on Tuesday, an incident federal legislators said was believed to be linked to a series of bombings in Austin, the state's capital. There were reports of another explosion in Austin on Tuesday evening, at a Goodwill store in the southern part of the city, with one person injured. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later said that an “incendiary device,” not a package bomb, had been found and that it did not appear to be related to the other explosions.

FBI Special Agent Michelle Lee told reporters Tuesday that “it would be silly for us not to admit that we suspect" the blast near San Antonia was "related" to the bombings in Austin, which have killed two and injured at least four others since March 2. But federal and local officials have yet establish who executed the blasts nor confirm whether all the episodes are linked.

Trump vowed to work with investigators to quickly identify the source of the bombings.

"This is obviously a very, very sick individual or maybe individuals," Trump said. "These are sick people, and we will get to the bottom of it."

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News Tuesday that Trump had been made aware of the explosion on Tuesday, although she had not spoken to him directly about it, and that she had met with other administration officials about it.

She said the White House would work with local authorities "to do everything we can to help supplement their efforts and make sure that we're doing what we can to help protect the people in these communities and that we can apprehend the individuals that are behind these terrible acts."

Federal agents told The Washington Post that the package bomb near San Antonio exploded shortly after midnight Tuesday.

Local police issued a statement Tuesday saying at least one person was injured from the explosion. San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus told reporters "there was one other package" at the facility that contained explosives besides the one that exploded. A spokesperson later said no second explosive device was found, according to The Washington Post.

Louis Nelson contributed to this report.