ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) — The suspected Austin bomber ended a three-week manhunt as he blew himself up this morning as police were closing in on him, but the reign of terror may continue because police suspect there are more bombs unaccounted for.
Police say the suspect’s motives remain unknown as well as whether he acted alone in the five bombings that killed two people and wounded four others.
Police closed in on the 24-year-old man in the last 36 hours and located his vehicle at a hotel on Interstate 35 in the suburb of Round Rock. Officers were waiting for armored vehicles before attempting an arrest when the suspect started to drive away, police said.
Authorities followed the vehicle, which ran into a ditch on the side of the road. When members of the SWAT team approached, the suspect detonated an explosive device inside the vehicle.
A law enforcement official identified the dead man as Mark Anthony Conditt. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. Conditt was identified as a Pflugerville resident. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin.
Austin was hit with four package bombings starting on March 2. A fifth parcel bomb went off early Tuesday at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio.
