The suspected serial bomber in Austin, Texas took his own life Wednesday during a standoff with police, ending a weeks-long explosive siege on the state’s capital city.
Austin police said the suspect in the attacks that killed two people and injured four others took his life by setting off an explosive device as a Texas SWAT team approached his vehicle.
“The suspect is deceased and has significant injuries from a blast that occurred from detonating a bomb inside his vehicle,” Austin police Chief Brian Manley told reporters.
Here’s what we know about the bomber so far.
Identity
Authorities have yet to release the name of the dead bombing suspect, only to describe him as a 23-year-old white male. According to the Associated Press, Pflugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales confirmed to the news agency the suspect lived in the mayor’s city. Citing law enforcement sources, the news agency identified the bomber as Mark Anthony Conditt.
Local media also identified the bomber as Conditt.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News, it’s believed Conditt lived with two roommates in Pflugerville.
“We’ve known for a couple of days who the suspect likely was,” the governor said. “Law enforcement is at his house in Pflugerville where we are learning whether or not that was the location he was making his bombs.”
Pflugerville is about 30 kilometres north of Austin.
The Austin bombing suspect doesn’t appear to have left much of a trail on social media, but in 2012 posts on what appears to be his personal blog, he expressed opinions about a range of topics, including gay marriage and abortion.
According to Austin newspaper the American-Statesman, the suspected bomber took a conservative stance in his blog posts.
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“First, if a women does not want a baby, or is incapable of taking care of one, she should not participate in activities that were made for that reason,” he wrote, according the newspaper. “Second, if we are going to give women free abortions, why not give men free condoms, or the like? Is it not up to the couple to take these preventive measures?”
Conditt wrote that the “natural design” of male and female bodies were “obviously designed to couple.”
“It is not natural to couple male with male and female with female,” he wrote. “It would be like trying to fit two screws together and two nuts together and then say, ‘See, it’s natural for them to go together.’”
Conditt’s family released a statement saying they had “no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in.” His uncle, Mike Courtney, described his nephew as a “computer geek” who was intelligent and kind.
How bomber was captured
Police had tracked the suspect to a hotel just outside of Austin. While authorities were waiting for an armoured vehicle to arrive to approach the bomber, the suspect drove off. Authorities followed the vehicle, which ran into a ditch on the side of the road, the police chief said.
When members of the SWAT team approached, the suspect detonated an explosive device inside the vehicle, the police chief said. The blast knocked back one officer, while a second officer fired his weapon, Manley said.
Motive behind the bombings
The police chief told reporters Wednesday that the bomber’s motive was not hate-based.
“What I can tell you — he does not mention anything about terrorism,” Manley said. “He does not mention anything about hate.
“Instead, it is the outcry of a very, challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point.”
He also said there
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Manley said the suspect was believed to be responsible for six bombs around Austin, all but one of which detonated.
Timeline of bombings
A package containing nails and shrapnel exploded at a FedEx distribution centre in San Antonio, Texas, early Tuesday morning, injuring one person. Fire officials said the package had been sent from Austin and was bound for a home within the city.
On Sunday, two people in Austin were injured after a bomb detonated. Officials said two men were out for a walk when police say they may have crossed a tripwire, triggering the blast.
On Mar. 2, the first package bomb took the life of Anthony Stephan House. The explosion – on the front porch – tore a hole in the home of the 39-year-old African-American.
On Mar. 12, a second bomb killed Draylen Mason when a parcel exploded in this kitchen. The 17-year-old’s mother was also injured in the attack. They were also African-Americans. The third bombing happened just hours later, injuring a 75-year-old Hispanic woman.
More bombs?
Austin Mayor Steve Adler urged residents to be vigilant, saying the “investigation is not over.”
“Still outstanding questions, still could be more threats,” the mayor tweeted.
FBI agent Chris Combs, head of the agency’s San Antonio office said early Wednesday that officials “are concerned that there may be other packages that are still out there.”
–with files from the Associated Press
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