The city of Austin, Texas and its surrounding area has been the target of a string of bombings in recent weeks that came to a violent end earlier this morning. The suspected bomber, identified as 23-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt, detonated a bomb from inside his own vehicle just north of Austin, TX as police approached his car, CNN reports. Police say they believe that he had been responsible for several bombings in the area since they began on March 2nd.
After extensive surveillance, including video footage from a FedEx building and tracking receipts, the police were able to identify and track Conditt to his hotel earlier today. He saw the police approaching, hopped into his car and drove off before veering off into a ditch to detonate the bomb.
“Federal Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrant Filed Last Night Against Pflugerville, TX Man Prior to His Death After Discharging Bomb” https://t.co/5yU2tSS2wg #PressRelease #AustinPD pic.twitter.com/cfbsIXdy3n
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 21, 2018
Though authorities are still unaware as to what Conditt’s motivations were in staging these bombings, they said that believe that residents should still heed caution as they aren’t completely clear on where he had been in the hours leading up to his death.
Police Chief Brian Manley stated, “We don’t know where this suspect has spent his last 24 hours, and therefore we still need to remain vigilant to ensure that no other packages or devices have been left throughout the community.”
Investigators have detained two roommates of the Austin bombing suspect. One roommate was detained, questioned and released. The other is currently being questioned. Their names will not be released because they are not under arrest at this time. APD PIO
— Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 21, 2018
The New York Times reported Texas Gov. Greg Abbott saying, “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.” He continued, “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.”
As of right now, police say that they are unsure as to whether or not he was working with any accomplices (they had detained and interviewed two of his roommates) or whether he had any other packages that he intended to deliver.