The man behind a string of deadly bombings in Austin has been identified as Mark Anthony Conditt after he died blowing himself up as police tried to arrest him early Wednesday morning. The 23-year-old killed himself when he detonated a bomb inside his car as police surrounded him near a hotel on Interstate 35, just outside Austin, at about 2am. His body was spotted under a blue tarp (top right) beside his car (bottom right) as authorities surrounded the crime scene. Police zeroed in on the bomber, who lived nearby, after obtaining CCTV footage of him in disguise and wearing protective gloves (left) as he posted two packages at a FedEx office on Sunday night. Authorities are now warning that more bombs could still be out there because they do not know if the bomber posted more devices prior to his death. The series of bombings killed two people and injured at least five others. The most recent package bomb detonated at a FedEx distribution center near San Antonio early Tuesday.


 Austin Police, Chief Brian Manley, revealed that Conditt made a 25 minute video on his phone, confessing to the attacks. His devout Christian family (center) had no idea of his problems. 'What is clear from listening to that video, is that this was very troubled young man who was talking about the challenges in his life that led him to take the actions he took,' Manley said, adding that there were no mentions of terrorism or hate in the clip. 'There were also indications of action she was willing to take in the future,' Manley said. There were also 'no indications of why these specific addresses, or those that were placed in the community, there was no reasons given for why he selected those individuals.' 

Behind the scenes, investigators used cell tower data to tie Conditt to the bombing sites and other locations, the Texas governor said. And when the suspect used FedEx, law enforcement caught an even bigger break.

• 
  

He worked with his dad around their modest yellow house on Second Street, fixing up a newly purchased home in an old-fashioned, close-knit neighborhood — the kind of place where residents check in on one another.

Mark Anthony Conditt seemed to fit in. Having been home-schooled, the 23-year-old was close to his family, including his sisters. As he neared graduation, he took a government course at Austin Community College and described himself on a class blog as conservative but “not that politically inclined.”

People who knew him say Conditt was quiet and shy. Police said Wednesday evening that Conditt seemed motivated by frustration with his life.

Manley described a 25-minute recording left on Conditt’s phone as “the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point.”

The FedEx shipments offered a significant moment because investigators were able to obtain surveillance footage of Conditt walking into the FedEx store wearing a wig and gloves, Abbott said. Investigators also determined that Conditt purchased signs like the one used to anchor the tripwire-rigged device that detonated Sunday night, Abbott said.

Conditt was not a military veteran, an early theory given the explosives expertise. Abbott told reporters Wednesday that he appeared to have bought the bomb components from Home Depot, and federal investigators are examining his Internet search history to see how self-taught his bomb-making skills might have been.

The public profile he left comprises a series of writings on his political views, socially conservative but far from radical.