Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

U.S. NEWS A5
Thursday 22 March 2018

With police near, suspected Austin bomber blows himself up

This 2010 student ID photo released by Austin Community Col- a blogger who identified Wednesday morning. March 2. The first explosions
lege shows Mark Anthony Conditt, who attended classes there himself as Mark Conditt of Schulze described the were from packages left
between 2010 and 2012, according to the school. Conditt, the suburban Pflugerville wrote home as "a weird house on doorsteps. Then a bomb
suspect in the deadly bombings that terrorized Austin, blew him- that gay marriage should with a lot of people com- with a tripwire was placed
self up early Wednesday, March 21, 2018, as authorities closed be illegal. He also called ing and going" and a bit near a public trail. A fifth
in on him, bringing a grisly end to a three-week manhunt. for the elimination of sex of- rundown. parcel bomb detonated
fender registrations and ar- A neighbor who watched early Tuesday at a FedEx
(Austin Community College via AP) gued in favor of the death Conditt grow up said he distribution center near San
penalty. He listed his inter- always seemed smart and Antonio.
ests as cycling, tennis and polite. Jeff Reeb said he Rep. Michael McCaul, a
listening to music. has lived next to Conditt's Republican from Austin,
Of gay marriage, Conditt parents for about 17 years said Conditt’s “fatal mis-
wrote: "Homosexuality is and described them as take” was walking into a
not natural. Just look at good neighbors. Conditt FedEx store to mail a pack-
the male and female bod- had visited his parents reg- age because that allowed
ies. They are obviously de- ularly, he said. authorities to obtain surveil-
signed to couple." Conditt's family released a lance video that showed
Jay Schulze, who lives in statement saying they had him and his vehicle, along
Pflugerville, said he was jog- "no idea of the darkness with his license plate num-
ging Tuesday night when he that Mark must have been ber. From there, investiga-
was stopped by police and in." His uncle, Mike Court- tors could identify the sus-
asked about the bomb- ney, said his nephew was a pect and eventually track
ings. He said police flew "computer geek" who was him using his cellphone.
drones over Conditt's home intelligent and kind. Police warned of the possi-
for about six hours between Austin was hit with four bility that more bombs had
Tuesday evening and early bombings starting on yet to be found.q

By JIM VERTUNO tions of "Friday Night Lights."
WILL WEISSERT Officers prepared to move
PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (AP) in for an arrest. When the
— As a SWAT team closed suspect's sport utility vehi-
in, the suspected bomber cle began to drive away,
whose deadly explosives they followed.
terrorized Austin for three Conditt ran into a ditch on
weeks used one of his own the side of the road, and
devices to blow himself up. SWAT officers approached.
But police warned that he That's when he detonated
could have planted more a bomb inside the vehicle,
bombs before his death, Austin Police Chief Brian
and they cautioned the Manley said.
city to stay on guard. Law enforcement officials
Mark Anthony Conditt, an did not immediately say
unemployed college drop- whether Conditt acted
out who bought bomb- alone in the five bombings
making materials at Home in the Texas capital and
Depot, was tracked down suburban San Antonio that
using store surveillance vid- killed two people and bad-
eo, cellphone signals and ly wounded four others.
witness accounts of a cus- Investigators released few
tomer shipping packages details about Conditt, ex-
in a disguise that included cept his age and that he
a blonde wig and gloves. was white. Neighbors say
His motive remained a mys- he was home schooled. He
tery. later attended Austin Com-
Police finally found the munity College from 2010
23-year-old early Wednes- to 2012, according to a col-
day at a hotel in a suburb lege spokeswoman, but he
north of Austin known as did not graduate.
the scene for filming por- In posts dated from 2012,