Austin bombing spree suspect’s family ‘are devastated’ over attacks

THE family of the man thought to have terrorised the city of Austin in Texas during a deadly month-long bombing spree have spoken of their devastation as police tried to understand how and why he went on his rampage. Mark Conditt, 24, yesterday killed himself in his car as a police SWAT team closed in on him in the town of Round Rock, 20 miles from Austin.

Police said that they had learnt of his identity in the previous 24 hours, when he was caught on CCTV dropping off a package at a Fedex in Austin. They obtained his Google search records and found suspicious activity. Conditt is suspected of carrying out at least five bomb attacks in the Austin area, killing two people and wounding several more. Police last night said the pipe bombs were made with hardware shop components. It was unclear whether he acted alone. Officials have not given a motive and Brian Manley, the chief of Austin police, said they remained concerned that there could still be other, unexploded devices.

“We don’t know where this suspect has spent his last 24 hours, and therefore we need to remain vigilant to be sure no other packages have been left throughout the community,” he said.

Yesterday, Conditt’s family issued a statement saying they were “devastated and broken” to be caught up in the attacks. They said: “We had no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in. 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.” Conditt lived in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville.

He appears to have written a blog, with six postings discussing social and political issues between January and May 2012. His postings showed him to be against gay marriage and abortion, and in favour of the death penalty.