Austin bombings
Austin bombing suspect's 25-minute recorded 'confession' leaves a lot of open questions
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Wednesday evening that the presumptive serial bomber who died in a police standoff early Wednesday morning left a video recording on his phone, which was recovered from his car after the suspect, Mark Conditt, detonated an explosive device. "I would classify this as a confession," Manley said, and in it Conditt, 23, describes in some detail the six complete explosive devices that went off in and around Austin starting March 2 and ending with his apparent suicide blast. The six explosions killed two other people — Anthony House, 39, and Draylen Mason, 17 — and wounded at least four others.
Conditt made the recording between 9 and 11 p.m. Tuesday night, as police were closing in on him, and while he talked about what he did, Manley said, he did not provide a motive. "We are never going to be able to put a [rationale] behind these acts, but what I can tell you having listened to that recording: He does not at all 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 that led him to this point."
Police and federal law enforcement tracked Conditt down using several methods, including supply purchases at a Home Depot, but his decision to ship two explosives-laden packages from a FedEx store on Sunday gave investigators surveillance footage of him, his car, and his license plate. On Wednesday, police found unfinished homemade explosives and materials at his house in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville. You can learn more in the CNN report below. Peter Weber