It was just a matter of time before the consortium of local, state and federal law enforcement investigators determined a suspect in the deadly string of packaged bombs left at Austin, Texas residences and businesses. Since March 2, 2018 six bombs deposited within a few miles of one another resulted in five detonations, two dead, and five injured.
Technically, with the serial bomber’s suicide this morning, the death toll is three…stemming from a classic case of Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Austin police department spokespersons identified the serial bomber as Mark Anthony Conditt, a 24-year-old white male who lived with two roommates in an apartment in nearby Pflugerville. As of now, law enforcement officials do not believe the two roommates are involved with Conditt’s explosive tear through Austin. Given this morning’s standoffish ending, we can now add Round Rock, Texas as an extension of the Austin crime scenes.
Of the confirmed instances of bombs, three were left at Austin homes, one was jury-rigged with a trip wire, and one exploded among parcels at a Fed Ex facility. The sixth packaged bomb left at another FedEx facility failed entirely—that one was safely turned over to police from which authorities undoubtedly derived evidence and potential leads.
Interestingly, as Austin police held initial press conferences, it was mentioned that their investigative efforts determined that none of the first few bombs had been delivered via USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Could the bomber have watched that news tidbit, compelling him to slip a packaged bomb into the FedEx facility? A show of You’re not in my league? Sort of sticking it to the man? Likely. As the serial bombings evolved, it had the makings of suspect(s) desirous of taunting law enforcement. That certainly factors into a warped-minded individual whose pathology underscores myriad emotional fissures, to include anti-government, a hefty appetite for destruction, and pleasure derived from killing.
Same theorizing goes with the earlier angle of police surmising that these bombings were hate crime-oriented. That was publicized via media and then the bomber altered course again.
As mentioned in an earlier OpsLens article, the first few bombings were thought to be hate crime-related since two separate victims were African-American males targeted in their respective homes. Hate crimes fall under the scope of the FBI while anything explosives related with large-scale specter draws the attention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents. As the series of bombings persisted, police authorities reconsidered the hate crime notion as subsequent victims did not fit the racially-motivated profile.
Similarly, as Austin police officials televised their theories, to include the bomb-maker’s level of sophistication and resounding warnings for citizens to refrain from opening any unexpected package, the subsequent bombing resorted to using a tripwire instead of a package.
With the tripwire version, Austin police Chief Brian Manley appeared on Good Morning America, saying, “If this explosion was the result of the bomb utilizing tripwire technology, that is showing a different level of skill above what we were already concerned that the suspect or suspects may possess.”
As former Garland, Texas police detective Clint McNear told CBSDFW.com, “They’ve done it repeatedly without harming themselves, they’re displaying that they have some knowledge.” I couldn’t disagree with Mr. McNear’s assessment. He goes on to allude to the possibility that the bomber had explosives knowledge-base from one of the services such as military or police. My instinct signals a military-trained individual who derailed for one reason or another, using the capacity provided him against who/what he perceived as a threat. That factor will be deduced in the course of investigation.
Austin police Chief Manley admonished Austin and surrounding area citizens to “remain vigilant” since it is neither established where the bomber had been nor what his activities were leading up to the police encounter during he ended his life with one more bomb as Austin SWAT operators encircled the vehicle in which he sat idle.
“We do not understand what motivated [Conditt] to do what he did,” Austin police Chief Manley expressed to the media.
Given that the suspect chose to obliterate his existence this morning, nearly taking SWAT operators with him, police will be tasked with forming a retrospective reel depicting Conditt’s life. Depending on what stores of information, record-keeping, lifestyle and evidence Conditt chronicled, police may be able to piece together a motive for the series of detonations.
According to a CNN report, “FedEx also said it provided authorities with ‘extensive evidence’ from its security system on the packages and the person who shipped them.”
CNN quoted an unidentified source emphasizing the unexploded bomb at an Austin FedEx location: “Now we have the blueprint and possible DNA on the inside of the bomb. So, teams are working to render it safe and then look for DNA.” In the following photograph taken from FedEx surveillance camera footage depicting who we now believe is Mark Anthony Conditt, his service desk presence illustrates the makings of a domestic terrorist transacting boxes of destruction. Albeit blurry, it appears he is donning gloves.
As Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler said on national TV, he is not keen on the “operational details” which led to police confirming Conditt’s identity but exuded some comfort in the “army of law enforcement in our community” which culminated in this morning’s seeming conclusion.
This morning’s self-detonation culminating in the bomber killing himself levied challenges for police to resort to forensics sciences (ie. DNA, dental records) to ascertain the bomber’s calculus and, potentially, his motives.
It is quite conceivable that police were a few beats ahead of what they disclosed in press conferences and social media releases. Strategically, that brand of information and its handling is crucial to maintaining public safety while also not tipping-off the suspect. The latter could compel disaster if he knew police were closing in and became desperate for one last hurrah. Conversely, that knowledge can spook a suspect into going underground like “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski did. As AJC.com reporter Crystal Bonvillian wrote, Kaczynski was a “serial bomber who remained elusive for nearly 20 years until his was turned in by his own brother” in 1996.
Sure to follow will be a thorough background check regarding Conditt, from which more answers seems inevitable. Moreover, the pressure cooker is not unplugged for police just yet. As Austin police Chief Manley stated time and again, stay vigilant. Indeed, Conditt may have been more busy than anyone can attest. That means one or more bombs may still exist somewhere. It is unrealistic for police to turn over every rock, so police/community alliance becomes a paramount ingredient. As in many others, in this case citizens going about their lives are expected to see something and say something in a free society like ours. That means an ordeal such as this is not confined to only Austin, Texas.
Police will establish Conditt’s cell phone records and thus his travels. That pertinence relates to other territories he may have traversed whereby his bomb-making finesse may have deposits in-waiting. It boils down to scrutiny saves versus curiosity killing the cat.
Despite this morning’s ostensible finale, Austin police urge citizens to tread cautiously and to not deem this saga concluded. “This investigation is still underway, so we cannot say that this individual was acting on their own,” Chief Manley said this morning from the Round Rock, Texas scene where Conditt took his life. Underscoring what Chief Manley’s point is the fact that Conditt was mobile with a bomb while SWAT officers were closing the net. Where was he transporting that bomb?
Ted “Unabomber” Kaczynski targeted universities and businesses, feeling they bastardized US industrialization and hastened environmental decay. Austin, Texas and federal authorities will dish-up theories pertaining to Conditt’s explosive malice in days to come.
