Austin bombings suspect identified: Mark Anthony Conditt

Police say Anthony Conditt, a 23-year-old white male, blew himself up inside his car near the Texas capital, Austin.

Police in Texas have identified the suspect in the bombings in the US state’s capital, Austin, as Mark Anthony Conditt, a 23-year-old white male.

Conditt was a native of Pflugerville, a suburb of Austin near Round Rock, where the suspect killed himself.

The man blew himself up inside his car as police moved in to arrest him early on Wednesday morning, police said.

“The suspect is deceased,” Brian Manley, Austin police chief, said on Wednesday.

Manley said Conditt is believed to be responsible for all five bomb explosions that have killed two and wounded several more and put people on edge in Austin since March 2.

His motive was not known.

Police officer injured

Police traced the man’s car to a hotel outside Austin.

As authorities waited for tactical teams to arrive, the man started to drive away.

Police moved to stop and arrest him before the man detonated a bomb inside his car and was killed, Manley said, adding that one police officer was injured by the blast.

Authorities said they could not rule out the possibility of there being other bombs throughout the Texas capital and urged caution.

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Police zeroed in on Conditt over the past 36 hours as evidence came in from video footage and witness accounts, Manley said.

“It has been a long almost three weeks for the community of Austin,” Manley said.

According to social media posts, Conditt was home-schooled.

In a social-media post, his mother said he graduated high school in 2013 and was thinking of taking time to plan his next step.

Conditt was enrolled in an online course on the US government at the Austin Community College in 2012.

Posts attributed to Conditt from the course’s online forum say the alleged serial bomber did not view himself as politically inclined, though conservative.

Conditt also expressed pro-death penalty, anti-same sex marriage views on the site, reports say.

Trump’s tweet

President Donald Trump said in a tweet, “AUSTIN BOMBING SUSPECT IS DEAD. Great job by law enforcement and all concerned!”

As the investigation proceeded, police said the bombs were growing in sophistication.

The first three were hand-delivered to the doorsteps of people’s houses.

The fourth featured a trip wire, and the fifth was sent into the FedEx delivery chain.

More than 1,200 calls came in from residents since police urged them to report suspicious activities after the first explosion.

In the end, police were offering a reward of $115,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies