AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department’s (APD) Bomb Squad retrieved “incendiary” devices from a Tesla dealership in northwest Austin on Monday morning.
APD said just after 8 a.m., officers responded to a “found/abandoned hazardous” call at the dealership located off the North U.S. 183 northbound service road, not far from Spicewood Springs Road. When officers arrived, APD said they located “suspicious” devices and called the Bomb Squad to investigate.
APD said the devices, “which were determined to be incendiary,” were taken into custody without incident. KVUE asked APD for clarification about what the devices were, but the department said due to the ongoing investigation, it cannot provide any additional details.
APD also said Tesla is cooperating with this investigation.
This is a joint investigation involving APD, the Austin Fire Department’s fire marshals and federal partners. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed it is part of this investigation, but the FBI is the lead agency. KVUE has reached out to the FBI for more information.
This is the same Tesla dealership where protesters have gathered two weekends in a row; however, law enforcement officials have not made any indication that Monday morning’s incident is related to those protests.