Photo courtesy of The Daily Beast.
Summary: The alleged Austin serial bomber died on Wednesday by one of his own bombs.
The alleged Austin serial bomber died on Wednesday after blowing himself up during a police chase. According to CNN, authorities were monitoring former community college student Mark Anthony Conditt, 23, and on Wednesday, he killed himself with one of his own devices.
People who knew Conditt described him as a “deep thinker” and did not disclose motives so far. Authorities were staking him out at a hotel after they had received a tip, and Conditt, knowing he was being followed, pulled into a ditch on Wednesday and detonated one of his bombs, killing himself.
For weeks, Conditt allegedly terrorized the Austin, Texas area by creating at least six explosive devices, five which were detonated. According to the New York Times, authorities were investigating Conditt after receiving a tip, examining surveillance footage, and reviewing Conditt’s online search history.
The first explosives in Austin were left on doorsteps, and the locations had people at first theorizing that the bomber was targetting affluent minorities. However, the bomber later created a tripwire in a mostly white neighborhood, which injured two white males, and he later sent an explosive to Fedex.
After Conditt’s alleged reign of terror ended, President Trump tweeted on Wednesday, “AUSTIN BOMBING SUSPECT IS DEAD. Great job by law enforcement and all concerned!”
Although Conditt is now dead, authorities said that it is unclear whether or not he has other explosives left around the city.
“Two very important things before we can put this to rest. One, we don’t know if there are any other bombs out there and if so, how many and where they may be,” Gov. Greg Abbott said on Fox News. “Second, very importantly, we need to go throughout the day to make sure that we rule out whether there was anybody else involved in this process.”
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said it is unclear if Conditt had accomplices and that his motivation has not yet been determined.
Friends and family described Conditt as “nerdy” and a person who always reading. According to the New York Times, his family is cooperating with authorities and wanted to express their condolences to the families of those who were killed or injured.
“They wanted to express their condolences to the families of those who’ve been affected, and that will be reflected in the statement,” Austin Detective David Fugitt said. “This family has been very cooperative. They’ve gone above and beyond, to answer any questions that we’ve had. We don’t have any information to believe that the family had any knowledge of these events.”