86R16805 BK-D
By: Israel H.R. No. 747
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, From March 2 to March 21, 2018, the city of Austin
was gripped by a series of seemingly random bombings, which ushered
in a state of fear and vigilance in the community and called forth a
highly coordinated multiagency response to bring the perpetrator of
these heinous crimes to justice; and
WHEREAS, The bombs, which took the lives of Anthony Stephan
House and Draylen Mason and injured five other people, followed no
apparent pattern, were delivered to targets all across the city,
and varied in their trigger methods, from a string of package
explosives to the eventual use of a tripwire; the unpredictable
nature of the attacks posed a complex challenge to investigators
with the Austin Police Department, led by then-interim police chief
Brian Manley; further assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives, and hundreds of local and state police and federal
agents were assigned to the case as it built to its crescendo; and
WHEREAS, A trail of evidence uncovered by police eventually
led to the identification of the suspect and a standoff in the
nearby city of Round Rock on March 21; as SWAT team officers closed
in on the man, he committed suicide by detonating a final explosive
in his vehicle, bringing the harrowing incident to its conclusion
with no additional fatalities; and
WHEREAS, Countless individuals from a host of organizations
and units contributed their skills to the investigation; those
deserving of special recognition for their efforts include members
of the Austin Police Department SWAT Team who were present on the
scene during the fraught final moments of the manhunt: Katrina
Pruitt, Brannon Ellsworth, Robert Justesen, Vincent Garcia,
William Jackman, Pat O'Connor, Leighton Radtke, Jon Abbott, Mike
Ridge, Jeff Kingsley, Jared Hidalgo, and Tandy Perkins; and
WHEREAS, A number of bomb technicians also risked their lives
examining and neutralizing the numerous suspicious packages and
devices that were discovered over a period of weeks; they included
members of the Austin PD Bomb Squad, Courtney Renfro, Jeff Dwyer,
Jesse Carrillo, Caine Johnson, Jay McCormick, Josh Euhus, Jeff
Joseph, George Ewing, Rob Nunez, Kent Collins, Scott Rhoads, and
Troy Wiser; members of the Texas Department of Public Safety Bomb
Squad, Thomas Kovacs, Raymond Real, Donnie Bolton, and Andrew
Martinez; members of the San Antonio Bomb Squad, Jeremy Swindells,
Chad Culp, Jon Sarno, Matthew Armstrong, Jason Alberthal, and Jason
Lemcke; and members of the Houston Bomb Squad, Alton Baker, Greg
Smith, and Jason Countryman; and
WHEREAS, Tasked with ending a reign of terror that threatened
to claim many more lives, these men and women met the challenge
before them with tremendous skill and courage, and they have earned
the heartfelt gratitude of the citizens of Austin and the entire
State of Texas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
Legislature hereby honor the SWAT team and bomb squad members who
responded to the 2018 Austin bombings and extend to them sincere
best wishes for continued success with their important work.