The Austin bombings are a big situation for the police and security departments as it has put Austin on edge.
Early Wednesday morning, a 24-year-old white male was confronted by Austin’s police SWAT team at a hotel in Round Rock, about 20 miles north of Austin. He had been identified as the Austin bomber using receipts, internet searches, witness sketches and a surveillance video provided by a FedEx store that showed the bomber in a disguise mailing the packages days earlier. Their presence alerted the suspect, sending him on the run. On the chase, he was forced into a ditch where he then detonated a bomb while still in the vehicle, injuring one of the officers and forcing another to shoot at the suspect.
He is believed to be responsible for the series of recent bombings in Austin, which has drastically affected the community, their lives, and possessions. According to sources, the name of the bomber has been revealed as Mark Anthony Conditt who lived in Pflugerville, a city just outside Austin. It was also claimed by the city’s interim police chief, Brian Manley, that during the confrontation between Conditt and the police, the detonated bomb caused significant injuries to Conditt, ultimately killing him. And it has also been stated that a 25 minute confession video by Conditt on his phone was found amongst his recovered possessions, however, it does not detail if the crimes were acts of terrorism or hate related.
The interim police chief has warned the community to stay alert as there could be some other packages outstanding. It has been mentioned by the police to news organizations that after the Austin bombings, between Monday 8 am to Tuesday 8 am, the Austin police received 420 suspicious package calls and since March 12, the number has increased to 1250 calls. However, none of the calls inspected confirmed a dangerous package. The police also claimed that all four bombs that detonated, killing about two to three people and injuring others, were constructed the same with one rigged with a trip wire and another two; one which detonated and injured an employee at a FedEx facility and another disarmed at the same facility, have been linked to the bomber. It shows the strong possibility of one man or a particular group of people behind these events.
