Bomber made video confession before blowing himself up
CONDITT, WHO WAS HOMESCHOOLED, DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS A CONSERVATIVE BUT SAID HE WAS NOT POLITICALLY INCLINED,
PFLUGERVILLE: The serial bomber whose deadly attacks terrorised Austin, Texas, for weeks left a 25-minute video “confession” on a cell phone found after he blew himself up on Wednesday as officers closed in to make an arrest, police said.
Mark Conditt, 23, an unemployed man from the suburb of Pflugerville, detailed how he made all seven bombs that have been accounted for - five that exploded, one that was recovered before it went off and a seventh that he detonated as officers rushed his vehicle.
But the video failed to reveal a coherent motive for the attacks spread over the past three weeks, police said.
“He does not at all mention anything about terrorism, nor does he mention anything about hate, but instead it is the outcry of a very challenged young man, talking about challenges in his personal life,” Austin police chief Brian Manley told reporters.
“I would classify this as a con- fession,” Manley said.
Conditt, who had never before been in trouble with the law, killed two people and wounded five with a campaign of violence that began on March 2, authorities said. Based on their search of the suspect’s home and his video statement, authorities said they felt confident that there were no other bombs and that the public was safe from further harm.
FBI special agent Christopher Combs said investigators believe the suspect would have continued his attacks had he not been apprehended.
Police recovered a “target list” of addresses for future bombings, according to a Los Angeles Times report.