Austin bomber left confession video
He blew himself up as police closed in; no answers to what set off rampage
PFLUGERVILLE, Texas – A serial bomber whose family describes him as shrouded in mysterious “darkness” left a 25-minute video confession on his cellphone, claiming responsibility for murder and creating widespread panic.
Austin Police Chief Bryan Manley said law enforcement recovered the confession made by Mark Anthony Conditt while scouring through his possessions. Conditt blew himself up early Wednesday as a SWAT team closed in.
Manley said the suspect confessed to the bombings and described each of the explosive devices in detail. The chief said the recording represents “the outcry of a very challenged young man.”
All seven devices that Conditt described in the recording, including the bomb he used to kill himself, have been recovered by law enforcement. But authorities are still urging caution.
“He does not at all mention anything about terrorism, nor does he mention anything about hate,” said Manley, who noted that the recording was made on Tuesday night and will not be released as long as the investigation is ongoing.
“Sometimes we can’t assign a reason to irrational acts,” he said. “This is a very troubled young man who was talking about challenges in his life that led him to the point in his life that led him to take the actions that he took.”
The recording did not reveal why Conditt targeted the addresses he did.
The revelation about the confession comes after police searched Conditt’s home and found a trove of bomb materials that so alarmed them that they evacuated a four-block area to avoid more death or injury.
Conditt, 23, died in a ditch near Round Rock as two SWAT team members advanced on his vehicle.
Authorities have not given any indication of an obvious motive for the attacks. They were also unsure whether Conditt acted alone in making and delivering the five bombs in the Texas capital and suburban San Antonio that killed two people and wounded four others since March 2.
Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, said “a considerable amount” of bombmaking apparatus was found in one room in the suspect’s house.
The materials were consistent with what was found in other devices connected to the suspect. No fully made explosive devices were found, Combs said.
Asked if the threat to public safety has lifted, he replied, “Stay vigilant.”
Combs said the law enforcement partnerships present on the ground in Austin helped them stop the suspect as early as they did.
“If we had not found this man, I think we all believe fairly certainly that there would have been more devices and more innocent civilians would have been hurt and would have been killed,” he said.
Combs said he watched video footage of the police chase early Wednesday, when officers were trailing the sus- pect.
“You literally had Austin police officers running towards a vehicle that had an explosive device in it that detonated,” he said. “That is unbelievable courage. Those are heroes.”
Some of Conditt’s family members issued a statement.
“We are devastated and broken at the news that our family could be involved in such an awful way. We had no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in,” the family said. “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.”
Federal agents who descended on Conditt’s frame house in Pflugerville detained two of his roommates before letting one go.
Inside, according to a statement by FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Austin Police, they found the cache of bomb materials before they cleared an area around the house “in an abundance of caution.”
Authorities also warned residents of the Austin area that Condiit may have also planted or mailed other explosive devices during the last 24 hours.
Mekelburg reports for the El Paso Times; Stanglin reported from Arlington, Va.