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Police Say Suspected Texas Serial Bomber Left Recorded 'Confession'

by VOA News

   Austin, Texas, Police Chief Brian Manley said Wednesday that suspected
   serial bomber Mark Conditt left behind a 25-minute cellphone video
   before killing himself as police moved in to arrest him.

   Manley gave no details of what he considered to be Conditt's
   confession.

   "He does not mention anything about terrorism, nor does he mention
   anything about hate. But instead it is the outcry of a very challenged
   young man, talking about challenges in his personal life," Manley said.

   Police warned that there might still be more bombs planted in the city,
   even though Conditt was dead.

   "We still need people to be vigilant. We don't know where the suspect
   has been the last 24 hours," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said.

   Police believe Conditt was behind six bombs in and around Austin over
   the last three weeks, killing two people and seriously wounding five
   others.

   Conditt killed himself by setting off a bomb in his car early Wednesday
   as police closed in to arrest him. One officer was knocked back from
   the car by the force of the blast.

   Investigators were able to zero in on Conditt as their main suspect by
   monitoring store surveillance video, cellphone signals, and through
   witnesses who saw a strange-looking man wearing gloves and a blond wig
   and carrying a box.

   U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, who represents the Austin area,
   said Conditt's "fatal mistake" was visiting a FedEx store to mail a
   package. It allowed authorities to obtain the surveillance video that
   showed him and his vehicle and its license plate.

   Agents said they were certain bomb-making components found in Conditt's
   house were identical to those found in the bombs.

   Fred Milanowski, an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
   Firearms and Explosives, said "what we do know is we believe the same
   person built each one of these devices," but it is "hard to say" if the
   suspect acted alone.

   Investigators also said they wanted to find out how Conditt acquired
   the knowledge to successfully build such devices.

   So far, they know little about the 24-year-old Conditt, other than he
   was unemployed, a college dropout and had no criminal record.

   Neighbors said he was smart and polite and a "deep thinker." But he
   condemned homosexuality on a social media blog and said gay marriage
   should be outlawed.

   Conditt's family issued a statement saying they were "devastated and
   broken" and offered "prayers for those families who have lost loved
   ones ... and for the soul of our Mark."

   Police have been investigating the bombings as possible hate crimes.
   The first three explosions killed two African-American men and left a
   75-year-old Hispanic woman fighting for her life, although two white
   men were the victims in one of the last bombings.