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Details of Bombing Suspect's Past Emerge after His Death in Final Explosion

CBN

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Police in Texas are analyzing a new video left behind by the suspect who terrorized a major American city with a series of bombs.

In the 25 minute video, 23-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt confesses how he left explosive packages around Austin.  

However, his motives remain a mystery. 

Police said Conditt did not mention terrorism or hate, nor did he say why he chose the victims he did. 

Austin Police say Conditt died after setting off an explosive device in his vehicle when confronted by police Wednesday morning.

He made the video shortly before detonating the bomb. 

The dramatic ending concludes a weeks-long stretch in which the serial bomber – identified as Mark Anthony Conditt – struck the Texas state capital in a bombing spree that killed two people, wounded at least four others, and left an entire city on edge.

"The suspect is deceased and has significant injuries from detonating a bomb inside his vehicle," interim Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters at a press briefing.

According to local media reports, Conditt was a self-described conservative who supported the death penalty and opposed gay marriage. He expressed those beliefs in a government class he took as a student at Austin Community College in 2012, though it’s unclear his politics factored into his motivation to terrorize the city.

In a blog post titled "Defining my Stance," he wrote the following entry:

"My name is Mark Conditt. I enjoy cycling, parkour, tennis, reading, and listening to music. I am not that politically inclined. I view myself as a conservative, but I don't think I have enough information to defend my stance as well as it should be defended. The reasons I am taking this class is because I want to understand the US government, and I hope that it will help me clarify my stance, and then defend it."

Conditt never graduated from the school, although he enrolled in classes from 2010 to 2012, according to the Texas Tribune.

Other media outlets are highlighting his religious background, citing people who grew up with him in homeschool group activities, Bible studies, and church.

Jeremiah Jensen knew Conditt from their homeschool community in Pflugerville, Texas, an Austin suburb of nearly 60,000 residents and in close proximity to the first bombing. 

Jensen told the New York Times, Conditt could get angry over a misunderstanding, but he often tried to push through Conditt's "hard exterior."

"He could be dominant in conversations," Jensen said. "It would seem like he was trying to argue with you and give pushback on things you were trying to say. It didn't have to be serious. He liked to debate."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told the Austin ABC affiliate KVUE that Conditt did not have a military or criminal background as investigators search for clues for a possible motive.

Police sources tell CBN News authorities tracked the suspect and had zeroed in on him in the last 24 to 36 hours. They located him at a hotel on Interstate 35 in the Austin suburb of Round Rock.

As Austin SWAT team members were closing in, Conditt drove away. He would later detonate a bomb inside his vehicle as an officer fired a shot.

Conditt lived with two roommates who were detained for questioning. One roommate was released Wednesday afternoon, according to the Austin Police Department. 

Investigators also searched the home and property of Conditt's parents. They are cooperating with law enforcement officials. 

"We don't have any information to believe that the family had any knowledge of these events," Detective David Fugitt said. "They're having a difficult time. This is certainly a shock to the conscience."

Many residents in the area changed their routines as the bombings continued and the suspect remained on the loose. Others turned to prayer.

“I talked to a woman yesterday at the press briefing,” explained Chuck Holton, a contributing correspondent for CBN News who has been reporting in Austin.

“She said that at her church service on Sunday that they had specifically said a prayer for the bomber – that they had asked God to convict that man to stop him from what he was doing – to keep him from committing any more of these heinous crimes, and it appears that their prayers were answered,” Holton said. 

“It feels like everybody is breathing a sigh of relief,” he added, describing the mood after news of the suspect’s death had spilled into the public.

Still, the FBI is warning the Austin community to stay vigilant, suggesting there could be other explosive packages yet to be discovered.

During his terrorization of the Austin area, the bomber deployed four bombs that exploded. And a fifth parcel bomb detonated at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio early Tuesday.

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