|
The Austin Bomber is a serial bomber who, in March 2018 made five bombs explode seemingly random victims, killing two of the victims in the bombings and injuring six others. Starting on March 2, 2018, a series of five package bomb explosions occurred mostly in the city of Austin, Texas, killing two civilians and injuring another five. The most recent occurred on March 20. Police identified a suspect, who committed suicide by detonating a device inside his vehicle when confronted by police on March 21. He has been identified as Mark Anthony Conditt of Pflugerville.
The March 2nd Bomb
On March 2, 2018, 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House was killed by picking up an apparent package bomb at his home.
The March 12th Bombings
On March 12, 17-year-old Draylen Mason was killed and his mother injured by an explosion, and another explosion that day seriously injured 75-year-old Esperanza Herrera, who was visiting her elderly mother's house. The second of the March 12 bombs was reportedly addressed to a different address.
March 18th Tripwire Bomb
A suspected tripwire-activated package bomb injured two men (a 22-year-old and a 23-year-old) in a residential neighborhood in southwest Austin on March 18. The men suffered serious, although not life-threatening, injuries. Unlike the previous bombs, which were left on doorsteps, this bomb was left on the side of the road attached to a "for sale" sign. Following this fourth blast, authorities warned the public of a "serial bomber" possessing "a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill" than initially thought.
The March 20th Bomb
On March 20, around 12:25 AM, a bomb exploded in a package at a FedEx Ground facility in Schertz, Texas, injuring one employee. The package was intended for an address in the city of Austin. Later that day, another suspicious package thought to contain a bomb was found at a separate FedEx facility in southeast Austin. The two packages were sent by the same person from a FedEx store in Sunset Valley, according to Austin's U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett and a FedEx spokesperson who said the information had been turned over to police.
Suspect
As part of the investigation, agents collected and reviewed receipts and sales records from stores for
suspicious purchases (of some common household ingredients that were used in the bombs). This review identified Mark Anthony Conditt as a person of interest. A federal search warrant was obtained for Conditt's IP address, and the evidence obtained indicated suspicious searches had been made on Google. Investigators also obtained a witness sketch of the man. Conditt was then captured on security videotape at a FedEx store in Austin, where he had shipped an explosive device. Investigators then tracked Conditt to a hotel in Round Rock, Texas.
Death of Conditt
Early on March 21, the suspect, 24-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt, was identified by investigators via security footage taken at a FedEx store, and police moved in to make an arrest. They tracked him to a hotel room in Round Rock, north of Austin, then onto I-35, where they pulled him over at around 2 AM (CDT). As SWAT officers approached, he detonated a bomb in the vehicle, killing himself and injuring one of them, provoking another to fire upon the vehicle. The Austin Police Department closed a southbound section of the interstate where Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents were dispatched to investigate.