Who is Mark Conditt? What we know about the Austin bombing suspect

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ROUND ROCK, Texas — Police were evacuating the area near the home where the Austin bombing suspect lived Wednesday morning as they searched for evidence following his death.

Investigators have detained two roommates of the suspect. One roommate was detained, questioned and released. The other is currently being questioned. Their names will not be released because they are not under arrest at this time, police said.

Late Tuesday night, the suspect, 24-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt, was identified by investigators via security footage taken at a FedEx store, and police moved in to make an arrest.

As part of the investigation, agents collected and reviewed receipts and sales records from stores for suspicious purchases (of some common household ingredients that were used in the bombs) at a Home Depot store. This review identified Conditt as a person of interest. A federal search warrant was obtained for Conditt’s IP address, which indicates suspicious searches on Google. Investigators also obtained a witness sketch of the man.

They tracked him to a hotel room in Round Rock, north of Austin, then onto I-35, where they pulled him over at around 2 AM (CDT). As SWAT officers approached, he detonated a bomb in the vehicle, killing himself and injuring one of them, provoking another to fire upon the vehicle–bringing an end to the terror that killed two civilians and injured another five.

Photo via Austin Community College

Police urged residents to remain vigilant as the suspect may have placed additional bombs throughout the city.


The family of Conditt released a brief statement Wednesday: “We are devastated and broken at the news that our family member could be involved in such an awful way. We had no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in. Our family is a normal family in every way. We love, we pray, and we try to inspire and serve others. Right now our prayers are for the families who lost loved ones, for those impacted in any way, and for the soul of our Mark. We are grieving and in shock. Please respect our privacy as we deal with this terrible, terrible knowledge and try to support each other at this time.”


Although a motive for the attacks remains unknown, Conditt argued against abortion, gay marriage and homosexuality in online blogs.

The Austin-Statesman reported he wanted to do away with the sex offender registration system:

“So you have a guy who committed a crime. Will putting him on a (sex offender) list make it better? wouldn’t this only make people shun him, keep him from getting a job, and making friends? Just for a crime that he may have committed over 15 years ago as a adolescent? On a side note, one fifth of all rapes are committed by a juvenile,” Conditt wrote.

On abortion, he wrote: “First, if a women does not want a baby, or is incapable of taking care of one, she should not participate in activities that were made for that reason. Second, if we are going to give women free abortions, why not give men free condoms, or the like? Is it not up to the couple to take these preventive measures?”

Arguing against gay marriage, he wrote that homosexuality is “not natural.”

“Just look at the male and female bodies. They are obviously designed to couple. The natural design is apparent. It is not natural to couple male with male and female with female. It would be like trying to fit two screws together and to nuts together and then say, “See, it’s natural for them to go together.”


“I would describe them as an extremely nice family,” neighbor Jeff Reeb said.

“He seemed like a very normal kid, which is what everybody says or most neighbors say in this type of situation,” Reeb said. “But over the years there is nothing I can point to.”

He added: “All I can tell you is that we’re praying for the family and I can’t imagine what they are going through,” he added.

Over 500 FBI and ATF agents assisted local police in the investigation. Representative Michael McCaul called it “probably the biggest investigation since the Boston bombings.”


RAW VIDEO: Police, FBI press conference after Austin bombing suspect’s death:

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