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Austin bombing suspect dead after blowing himself up during police confrontation
The serial bomber behind a wave of deadly explosions in Austin used one of his own devices to blow himself up early Wednesday as a SWAT team closed in on him, cops said.
Mark Anthony Conditt died after police closed in on him outside of Austin after law enforcement cautiously tracked him for close to two days, authorities said.
The 23-year-old suspect’s death comes after three weeks of exploding packages in the Texas capital, which have killed two people and wounded at least four more.
He had “significant injuries” after the device went off inside his car near a Red Roof Inn outside of Austin, officials said Wednesday morning.
Cops followed the driver after keeping watch over his car for several hours as it sat in a parking lot.
He set the bomb off shortly before 3 a.m. local time after he pulled into a ditch near Interstate 35 and the SWAT team approached.
Conditt was identified as the bombing suspect in a string of explosions throughout Austin over the last month.
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An officer was knocked back by the explosion and suffered minor injuries, police said. Another cop, apparently startled by the blast, opened fire on the suspect.
Austin police Chief Brian Manley, who could be seen smiling after the suspect’s death, said investigators “felt very confident” they had identified a person of interest as early as Tuesday morning.
The suspected bomber's family members issued a brief statement saying they were "broken" and "devastated."
"We had no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in,” the family said in a statement to CNN. “Our family is a normal family in every way. We love, we pray, and we try to inspire and serve others. Right now our prayers are for those families that have lost loved ones, for those impacted in any way, and for the soul of our Mark. We are grieiving and we are in shock."
Conditt bought some of his bombmaking materials from a local Home Depot, local lawmakers said.
Police continued investigating the scene early Wednesday, as Austin residents were asked to stay vigilant.
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That included five “CAUTION CHILDREN AT PLAY” signs, at least one of which he used to secure a tripwire on a bomb that went off Sunday night, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The bomber also reportedly used “exotic” batteries purchased online to build as many as six package bombs left around Austin.
"These weren't your store-bought Duracells," a law enforcement source told NBC News.
Abbott, speaking to KXAN, said a witness spotted a man believed to be Conditt wearing a “crazy” disguise — a blond wig and gloves — when he dropped off two packages at a FedEx store.
One of those parcels, which were shipped to Austin, later detonated, injuring a worker at a Texas facility.
Anthony Stephen House (left) and Draylen William Mason (right) were both victims of the Austin bombings.
The suspect was captured on surveillance footage, which Rep. McCaul said was Conditt’s “fatal mistake,” because investigators spotted his license plate and tracked his cellphone.
Conditt had no criminal record, and appeared to be unemployed leading up to the string of bombings.
He lived in Pflugerville, about 20 miles north of Austin, where he had two roommates.
Up to six blocks were evacuated around his home Wednesday morning as authorities inspected, stoking fears of another explosive.
Earlier Wednesday, Abbott said Conditt’s two roommates were cooperating with investigators.
Cops followed Conditt from a Red Roof Inn where they watched his car for several hours.
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“Those two roomates have been talking to law enforcements,” Abbott said. “I would venture to say those two roommates are not at this time suspects.”
But it’s “hard to say” if the suspect had any help in making the bombs, ATF special agent in charge Fred Milanoski told reporters.
It’s unclear if Conditt was making the explosives out of the hotel where they tracked him down.
“That would be the possibility, but again we can’t say with specificity whether there was one or multiple locations where he was building the bombs,” the governor said.
At least four of Conditt’s explosives went off since March 2, leading panic and a massive multi-agency manhunt for the bomber.
Interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, right, said the bomber detonated one of his own devices as a SWAT team closed in.
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“AUSTIN BOMBING SUSPECT IS DEAD," Trump tweeted. "Great job by law enforcement and all concerned," President Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
One explosive Sunday night, which wounded two men, was activated by a tripwire someone stepped on.
That’s left police wary that Conditt may have left more explosives around Austin leading up to his death.
“We don’t know where the suspect has spent his last 24 hours and therefore we still need to remain vigilant to make sure no other packages or devices have been left in the community,” Manley said.
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