Congressman McCaul thanks law enforcement for putting end to terror following Austin bombings

Interim Police Chief Brian Manley says the suspect of the Austin bombings reigned terror on the city for three weeks, and he's glad a partnership with federal authorities allowed them to bring it to a stop.

As the investigation continues, community members who helped put an end to the fright in the city were honored Saturday evening. Congressman Michael Mccaul says it's important to never forget the victims and their families during this time.

“I’d like to thank the federal, state and local level for an outstanding job they've done,” McCaul adds. "As a chairman of Homeland Security committee I'm used to seeing events in New York and London and Paris but I've never thought I'd see them in my hometown of Austin."

Congressman Michael McCaul says what happened in Austin is the largest bombing investigation since the Boston bombing. "This was really a textbook example of how law enforcement should work in cooperation and coordination between all levels of law enforcement.”

Saturday evening, he honored law enforcement leaders with flags that once flew over the United States Capitol. The first one was handed to Austin Interim Police Chief Brian Manley.

"I'm very proud of my police department, there's a lot of things we do right but this wouldn't have been possible without the help of our federal partners, and McCraw the state stepped up too because this occurred at a unique time for the Austin police department in that we're still working to get our patrol fleet of vehicles back on the street."

Manley acknowledged the Austin Police Department’s staffing issues may have put some people on edge during the whole incident. But says the large federal presence helped ease those worries and bring more confidence to the force.

McCaul says if bombings happened in Austin, they can happen anywhere. It's a message Mayor Steve Adler wants all residents to keep in the back of their minds. "This city will be better if we do the simple thing of making sure we know our neighbors. That should be our city's legacy moving forward."

Manley says although the federal partners will go back to their original jobs before the bombings happened, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done.

Others who were honored included Richard Miller ,who is head of the ATF, and the head of Texas Department of Public Safety - Steve McCraw. Juan Ortiz and Stephanie McClintock with Homeland Security and Emergency Management were also honored with flags from McCaul as well.