Austin Attacker Torched House Before Crash

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Officials say they believe a software engineer set fire to his house before taking a small plane and crashing it into an Austin office building.

Officials say Joseph Stack was furious with the Internal Revenue Service, which has an office with nearly 200 employees in the building he crashed into. That set off a raging fire that sent workers fleeing as plumes of black smoke poured into the air.

Austin fire officials say at least one person who worked in the building was unaccounted for and two people were hospitalized.

Investigators are looking at an anti-government message on the Web linked to Stack. The Web site outlines problems with the IRS and says violence “is the only answer.”

The house listed as belonging to Stack burned in a neighborhood about six miles from the crash site.

Two law enforcement officials said Stack had apparently set fire to his home before the suicidal plane flight.

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