Congressman: Bomb suspect called himself a ‘psychopath’

AUSTIN, Texas — The suspected Austin bomber called himself a “psychopath” in a recorded confession and said he felt no remorse for deadly explosions that killed two people, wounded four others and terrorized the city, a U.S. congressman said Saturday.

Investigators are still looking into what motivated 23-year-old Mark Conditt, but the recording he left on his cell phone shows that he was a “sick individual,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

“He did refer to himself as a psychopath. He did not show any remorse, in fact questioning himself for why he didn’t feel any remorse for what he did,” McCaul said.

Conditt, who was white, makes no mention of a racial motivation on the recording, but investigators are still looking into that as a possibility, he said. The first three victims were minorities.

Conditt died after detonating a explosive device early Wednesday as SWAT team officers ran toward his vehicle to arrest him in an Austin suburb. Investigators discovered a roughly 25-minute recording that Conditt had made on his cell phone allegedly confessing to the crimes.

Interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said the department will continue withholding the recording from the public as investigators look into Conditt’s motive and whether anyone else was involved. He noted that Conditt’s two roommates have been questioned and said that several more people will be interviewed. Releasing the recording now could jeopardize any future prosecutions, although no one else has been arrested or charged, Manley said.