The heroes who caught the Austin serial bomber

As authorities hunted for the Austin serial bomber, people phoned in hundreds of tips. A reward of $115,000 was posted. Police pled with the bomber through television.

But the case was solved by hundreds of federal and local authorities working tirelessly. They pieced together the bombs that were used, discovered that the batteries had been ordered online, and determined that a single person was responsible.

They were also able to use cell tower signals to distinguish mobile phones near the blast sites. They canvassed neighborhoods where the bombs were delivered and sifted through hundreds of reports of suspicious packages. Examining surveillance footage at FedEx centers, they identified the suspect.

These unnamed law enforcement professionals are heroes today to everyone in Austin and the rest of us as well.

A SWAT officer and courageous athletes

In related news, Blaine Gaskill is being recognized for his courage in stopping the shooter at Great Mills High School in Maryland last Tuesday. The police deputy rushed toward the sound of gunfire, risking his life to disrupt what could have been another mass shooting.

This was not the first time the SWAT-trained officer has dealt with armed confrontation. In 2016, he engaged an armed man standing not far from the high school, convincing the man to drop his weapon without firing a shot.

Meanwhile, the underdog Loyola men’s basketball team defeated Nevada last night in the NCAA men’s tournament. Loyola has been making headlines largely because of their team chaplain, a delightful ninety-eight-year-old nun named Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.

But they made headlines fifty-five years ago for a very different reason.

Sportswriter Pat Forde has a terrific story about the 1963 national championship team that included four African-American starters. The unwritten rule of the time was that teams would not start more than two black players.

The African-Americans on Loyola’s team were the targets of slurs;…