Austin Mourns: Meet the loving father killed by package bomb
Anthony Stephan House was reportedly a family man and loving father to an eight-year-old daughter before his life was tragically cut short by a package bomb.
Austin police are continuing to investigate after a package delivered to the home of Anthony Stephan House in Austin, Texas exploded in his hands.
House was a 39-year-old senior project manager for Texas Quarries and by all accounts the Texas State University graduate had much to live for.
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House’s death was the first in a series of bombings which have rocked an Austin, Texas community. Police and the FBI are now scouring neighborhood video cameras in hopes they will catch the culprits who they believe are hand-delivering the sophisticated bombs to the doorsteps of unsuspecting victims.
According the Austin authorities, within a 10-day timeframe there have been three bombings. Esperanza Herrera, a 75-year-old Hispanic woman suffered potentially fatal injuries and was rushed to the hospital. Draylen Mason was a 17-year-old honor roll student and accomplished bassist, who was accepted into the selective Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin, CNN affiliate KXAN reported.
The attacks involve bombs left outside of the homes of minority families. While the bombs have all been set off in a neighborhood largely populated by Black and Hispanic families, Austin police have been hesitant to label the attacks hate crimes.
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Anthony Stephan House’s neighbor Sean Philips told CNN that he tried to save the man. He reportedly heard a loud boom when he was getting his kids ready for school and ran outside to see what happened.
“I ran outside. I looked to my left and I saw him standing there, obviously damaged. He had shrapnel and his clothes were torn up and his face was torn up,” he explained to CNN.
Anthony Stephan House was rushed to the hospital but died as a result of his horrific injuries.
Austin on alert
At a press conference, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters that in each of the cases, the packages were left overnight on the victims’ doorsteps and were not mailed or sent by a delivery service. The U.S. Postal Service confirmed to investigators that the packages did not come through their facilities, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
“We don’t know what the motive behind these may be,” Manley said about the Austin bombings. “We do know that both of the homes that were the recipients of these packages belong to African-Americans, so we cannot rule out that hate crime is at the core of this. But we’re not saying that that’s the cause as well.”
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There is now a $15,000 reward being offered for information leading to an arrest, according to Texas governor’s office.
