What happened in Texas City?

While Texas City isn't the usual blogHOUSTON beat, the nature of yesterday's explosion, the media interest that is sure to come, and the location of Texas City in the greater "greater Houston" area makes it of interest, I think.

Here is the Chronicle's coverage of the apartment explosion from yesterday:

Texas City explosion
Photo by Kevin Bartram,
Galveston County Daily News
A bomb squad is on its way to an apartment complex this afternoon after an explosion in one unit, police said.

One person is believed dead and another suffered minor injuries, Texas City Police spokesman Sgt. Curtiss Pope said.

The explosion, the cause of which was not yet known, occurred shortly after 3 p.m. at the Lakeview Apartments in the 8800 block of the Emmett F. Lowry Expressway, Pope said.

Pope said investigators would enter the apartment after bomb experts determine whether any other dangers remain at the scene.

And here is an early report from KTRH-740's website:

An experiment with liquid chemicals led to a deadly explosion in a Texas City apartment Wednesday afternoon.

One person is believed to have died in the blast at the Lakeview Apartments on Palmer Road.

A robot from the Houston Police Department Bomb Disposal Unit was called to the scene where more chemicals were reportedly found.

Police say the blast was not related to terrorist activity

That seems like an odd statement for police to make without a full investigation.

Today, authorities had to detonate further explosive materials found in the apartment yesterday for fears that the materials were too combustible to transport safely. And in the press briefing, officials seem to be backtracking a little from the earlier blanket denial. Here's KPRC-2's account:

"Basically, it's a peroxide-based explosive that could be made in somebody's tub. It could be made in somebody's garage. "It's a very volatile substance that's extremely sensitive to heat, shock and friction," FBI Special Agent Kasey Salway said. "We found a considerable amount."

[snip]

Officials would not comment about whether the men had any links to terrorism or what the substance might have been used for.

"We have to follow the facts and we don't have anything to lead us to, at this point, to come out and say what exactly he was doing," Texas City Police Chief Robert Burby said.

And here's the Chronicle's account:

The FBI refused to say whether it believes the men were preparing some kind of attack.

But Texas City Mayor Matt Doyle said: "If we thought this was a terrorist act, the action would be a lot different than we've seen here today. Certainly, the FBI would have raised the level of security inside the city.''

Salway described the substance as similar to TATP, organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive acrid smell and has been described as a weapon of choice for suicide bombers.

TATP can be easily prepared in a basement lab using commercially available starting materials obtained from hardware stores, pharmacies, and stores selling cosmetics, according to the Global Security Web site.

Why in the world is the city's mayor so nonchalant about the incident? TATP is suspected of being used in the London subway and other terrorist attacks. There's no reason (yet) to assume these guys were planning any kind of terrorist attack, but there's also no reason simply to dismiss the possibility.

While the authorities will do their investigation, this is also a chance for the local media to do some real digging and try to find out exactly what was going on in Texas City.

UPDATE: The Galveston County Daily News seems to be ahead of the "bigger boys" with this tidbit:

TATP is shorthand for triacetone triperoxide, which has been used by suicide bombers in Israel, and was chosen as a detonator in 2001 by the thwarted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, according to website Global Security.org.

“It can be as or more powerful than military analogs. TATP is one of the most sensitive explosives known, being extremely sensitive to impact, temperature change and friction," the website that tracks military and terrorist issues reported.

Investigators said Rugo was possibly making explosives for a weekend "entertainment" activity where he and some friends liked to blow things up.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE: KHOU-11.

BLOGVERSATION: Houston Views, Houstonist, Texas Rainmaker, More Houstonist.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/20/06 06:53 PM | Print |

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