TX - Austin Package Bombs #2

[enelram]

So the neighbor across the street mentioned his father trying to build a bond w/ son. Son was what, 21 or 22?
Seems to me they must have had no bond or a poor bond for a long time, if that's the case. So the family did have
a 'hint' that things were amiss. There's more to this story, it just hasn't come out yet.

 

[enelram]

They said it was recorded about 9pm last night but it was long after that when turned phone on and the wreck/explosion. Or that is my understanding. I could be wrong.

Chief said recording was made between 9-11pm.

 

[arkansasmimi]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/austin-bombings-suspect-believed-neutralized-sources-n858576

The Texas bombing suspect's cellphone had a 25-minute video recording in which the young man described how he built each explosive device "with a level of specificity" that the Austin Chief of Police classified it as "a confession" at a press conference late Wednesday.

The phone was found on the suspect after he died in an explosion early Wednesday as police closed in, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. In the recording, Mark Anthony Conditt, described the bombs that he allegedly constructed to such a degree that he also explained how they differed, which is information that had not been released, Manley explained

"He does not at all mention anything about terrorism or anything about hate," Manley said, who added that the video did not necessarily clarify a motive.

...
The unusual batteries were the signature trait that allowed investigators to so quickly link the various explosives to Conditt, sources said. One senior law enforcement official said the batteries came from Asia.

"These weren't your store-bought Duracells," another law enforcement official said.

 

[blue22]

I'm gonna get a lot of hate for this, I'm sure... but I'm so torn. I feel SO bad for the victims families. I really do. I can't imagine losing a loved one to something like this. My child? My husband? I can't begin to imagine.

But me and Mr .Leyash were talking while taking pics, and I kept saying, "How SAD must you be? How DARK is your soul?"

To be able to do something like this... like, he had to have been in a REALLY bad spot. I feel bad for his family as well, I can only imagine they didn't really know that this was going on, and all of it is likely a complete shock to them.

But goodness, I feel bad for him. Maybe I'm just a little loony myself... but I can't help but feel bad for him and how much he must have hated life, and been depressed, and all of that. I truly feel bad for him that he felt his life was SO awful that he had to do something like this.

I'm also struggling because it makes it that much more real that I can drive 3 minutes down the street and watch all of this unfold. That makes it a little harder to take in as well.

I don't know. I TOTALLY understand what you are saying, I really do. It's just...I don't think people have to be in a bad spot to do horrible things. I think sometimes, people just do inexplicable, horrific, and tragic things. I think it makes us feel better to imagine the person torn up inside. I don't think they always are, which is especially terrifying. JMO.

 

[arkansasmimi]

Early Wednesday, police were following Conditt's car on Interstate 35 when he pulled over and "detonated a bomb inside the vehicle, knocking one of our SWAT officers back," Manley said.

Another member of the SWAT team fired at the vehicle, Manley said.

"The suspect is deceased and has significant injuries from a blast that occurred from detonating a bomb inside his vehicle," he said, adding that the officer who was knocked back sustained minor injuries.

The incident happened at around 2 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), according to NBC affiliate KXAN.

...

The components included galvanized steel pipe, an explosive and several different types of shrapnel, law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation said.

Some items were allegedly purchased online, and Conditt allegedly used the name "Kelly Killmore" on shipping, according to NBC News affiliate WOAI.

The completed devices were triggered via a rudimentary switch or pin system when the packages were opened or jostled, officials said. By opening or jostling the package, paper or some sort of wadding that was between the switch was removed, closing the circuit, and detonating the device. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/austin-bombings-suspect-believed-neutralized-sources-n858576

 

[nutkin]

JMO
After having time to process the news I wonder if

-He may have only blown up one package and the other one went off because of the first one exploding near it

-I do think he would have put more bombs out if not caught. Glad LE got to him and glad he is no longer a threat.

-I still dont understand why he got careless and went into the FEDEX store himself to ship a package. Wearing gloves no less. So many clues he gave away once he did that and video too.

Was he that stupid all this time or was he at his end game and wanted to finally get caught?
I almost feel like he wanted suicide by cop where he wanted a final confrontation.

I just don't think he was that smart. He was doing internet searches on his own home computer. You can watch any show on Investigation Discovery to know that is a no-no.

 

[nutkin]

He didn't do this because he was depressed and thought he had an awful life. He is a psychopath. People with normal neurology do not think "oh my life is so horrible, let me go blow up some innocent people."

 

[jjenny]

He didn't do this because he was depressed and thought he had an awful life. He is a psychopath. People with normal neurology do not think "oh my life is so horrible, let me go blow up some innocent people."

That's what his motive sounds like to me also. He was miserable for whatever reason, so everybody else had to be also.

 

[nutkin]

Sounds to me like he was a coward. He wanted to be a serial killer, but didn't have the guts to be up close and personal with his victims. He had to kill from afar with anonymity because he was weak and scared.

 

[Spellbound]

This is going to be interesting. He must have been in the area of the Red Roof Inn but not staying there.

But how the heck can they say he pulled over into a ditch? When the photo shows a van rammed into the rear oh MAC veh? And the bullet holes in the car. Scary as heck. Hero's but just looking at photos it doesn't look the same. They did a pit maneuver on that red SUVc. Happens and it was clearly important to do here but reporting is not showing that. Photo does. Other tweets said that they ran up to the car and he blew up the bomb. Then why shoot off the gun? JMHO

BBM: The end of the attached article explains a little better than most I have read. I am certain they are referring to the grass median area as a “ditch:” —it does slant downward from the road edges.

I think it all happened quickly, he slid or purposely pulled over, the van following did a pit-maneuver so he could not back out and another came up beside the red vehicle. When the bomb detonated it looks like it may have also damaged the windshield of the white van at the rear of the red SUV — see that gray thing in the middle of the windshield? I have no idea what it might be.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/us/austin-bombings-suspect.html

ROUND ROCK, Tex. — It was not much — surveillance footage in and near an Austin area FedEx store showing a man in a disguise dropping off packages. But for the cadre of investigators from the F.B.I. and other local, state and federal agencies who had been hunting a mysterious and prolific bomb-maker, it was what they needed — their first big break.

Up to that point in a two-week investigation, officials had never laid eyes on the man they believed was responsible for terrorizing the Texas capital since March 2. In the security footage, a red 2002 Ford Ranger driven by the suspect could be seen driving away, officials said. Because the authorities did not have a license plate number, they began combing through records — all of them, for every vehicle with the same make and model in Texas. Investigators then began trying to match the records with a white male, possibly in his 20s.

And there was another, more unorthodox clue from the surveillance video: The suspect’s hands. He was wearing pink construction gloves. Investigators determined the same type of gloves were available at Home Depot, and they began going through hours of surveillance video from Home Depot locations in and around Austin. They got a hit: security video from one store appeared to show the same suspect.

Officials had now whittled down the number of potential license plates and began tailing a handful of people. One of them turned out to be Mark Conditt — the man that the authorities now believe was the Austin serial bomber.


.................
Mr. Conditt’s vehicle was traced to a hotel in Round Rock, just north of Austin, Chief Manley said, where a SWAT team surreptitiously surrounded the hotel and called other specialized units.

But the suspect drove away before those teams could arrive. Officers followed the suspect, who stopped in a ditch off Interstate 35, and SWAT officers approached the vehicle on foot.

“The suspect detonated a bomb inside of the vehicle, knocking one officer back” and slightly injuring him, the police chief said. Another officer fired his gun at the vehicle. And investigators began the long process of trying to find the answer that wasn’t in the surveilance video: Why.

 

[Betty P]

So the neighbor across the street mentioned his father trying to build a bond w/ son. Son was what, 21 or 22?
Seems to me they must have had no bond or a poor bond for a long time, if that's the case. So the family did have
a 'hint' that things were amiss. There's more to this story, it just hasn't come out yet.

Yes, I read that in the New York Times article

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/us/mark-anthony-conditt-austin-bomber.html

If you're home schooling your kids from primary grades through high school age, you're around them all of the time. How do you not make a bond with them when they're at home almost 24/7?

Yes, something sounds off in their family relations, something is off with the parents.

Another quote from the NYT article about his mother:

After Mr. Conditt, 23, was identified on Wednesday as the serial bomber who had killed two people and terrorized Texas' state capital, Mr. Conditt's mother sent a text message to a friend, Donna Sebastian Harp. It said: "Pray for our family. We are under attack" - a reference to a spiritual assault.

There's that paranoid war/battle language referencing religion again. Her son had killed 2 people, injured several others, some severely, and she thinks her family is under attack? Wow. I think that's a big clue to her son's mentality.

 

[nutkin]

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do a pit maneuver on a bomber. They should have known he was going to blow himself up. I am just glad he didn't take whoever was in the van and truck with him.

 

[Philigumbo]

Yes. Blue with white trim is what I saw. That seems to be where police were more heavily concentrated. However, there were a couple houses surrounding that they seemed to be at as well. But the one that appeared to have the flags in the front, heavy tape, was a little blue house.

That’s his parents house, his childhood home. He lived nearby with 2 roommates. In the rundown looking house.

 

[nutkin]

Yes, I read that in the New York Times article

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/us/mark-anthony-conditt-austin-bomber.html

If you're home schooling your kids from primary grades through high school age, you're around them all of the time. How do you not make a bond with them when they're at home almost 24/7?

Yes, something sounds off in their family relations, something is off with the parents.

Another quote from the NYT article about his mother:



There's that paranoid war/battle language referencing religion again. Her son had killed 2 people, injured several others, some severely, and she thinks her family is under attack? Wow. I think that's a big clue to her son's mentality.

Exactly. I honestly wouldn't put it past some of his family knowing it was him or at the very least suspecting it. If you are any kind of parent, you KNOW your kids and what they are capable of.

 

[Betty P]

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do a pit maneuver on a bomber. They should have known he was going to blow himself up. I am just glad he didn't take whoever was in the van and truck with him.

No offense, but it was the right move. He had two bombs in the car and was a huge risk to the public, including everyone on and along the highway. The officers weren't concerned with his safety or of their own. They were focused on stopping him as quickly as possible before he lobbed his bombs at other cars on the road way or at some gas tanks at the closest filling station, etc. They were very brave to put their own lives at risk to stop him, because that was the most important thing: stopping him.

As for preserving his own life, all he had to do was stop his car and put his hands out the window to show he was surrendering.

 

[nutkin]

No offense, but it was the right move. He had two bombs in the car and was a huge risk to the public, including everyone on and along the highway. The officers weren't concerned with his safety or of their own. They were focused on stopping him as quickly as possible before he lobbed his bombs at other cars on the road way or at some gas tanks at the closest filling station, etc. They were very brave to put their own lives at risk to stop him, because that was the most important thing: stopping him.

As for preserving his own life, all he had to do was stop his car and put his hands out the window to show he was surrendering.

It was 2 AM. If he indeed pulled over into the median, I don't believe proper procedure would be to pull up on a bomber like that. They were clearly shooting at him, which is perfectly fine and understandable. But, they should have profiled that he was going to blow himself up.

 

[arkansasmimi]

BBM: The end of the attached article explains a little better than most I have read. I am certain they are referring to the grass median area as a “ditch:” —it does slant downward from the road edges.

I think it all happened quickly, he slid or purposely pulled over, the van following did a pit-maneuver so he could not back out and another came up beside the red vehicle. When the bomb detonated it looks like it may have also damaged the windshield of the white van at the rear of the red SUV — see that gray thing in the middle of the windshield? I have no idea what it might be.

I wonder if that was the back glass from the red SUV?
Yes it happened fast. That is what makes me wonder if the bombs were in the back of the SUV and the impact from rear cause one to go off? I just read an article or saw on tv the this past week that windshields are made to be broken from inside for emergency escape. Why if the bomb killed him did the windshield crack but not blow out as the other windows are? If it blew up why did the LEO shoot? (Just talking out loud not dissing LEO) I know tensions was high (rightly so)

"The completed devices were triggered via a rudimentary switch or pin system when the packages were opened or jostled, officials said. By opening or jostling the package, paper or some sort of wadding that was between the switch was removed, closing the circuit, and detonating the device."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/austin-bombings-suspect-believed-neutralized-sources-n858576


The officer that fired his gun was on the drivers side, so JMHO I think he was the driver of the white van (ran straight up)
Looks like they used the "jaws of life" to open the drivers door.

 

[Betty P]

It was 2 AM. If he indeed pulled over into the median, I don't believe proper procedure would be to pull up on a bomber like that. They were clearly shooting at him, which is perfectly fine and understandable. But, they should have profiled that he was going to blow himself up.

I'm not sure I understand. Should they have just followed him around as he kept driving? Try to shoot him dead as his car was moving along the road at a high speed with 2 bombs in board? I've done my fair share of second-guessing LE, but not in this case.

ETA: He didn't pull over to the shoulder, he was forced off the road by the pit maneuver.

 

[enelram]

Great insight, Betty- If this is the 'norm' in thinking and values of this area, and with the religious/church thing being
so strong in that area, that's even more reason why they should bring in some outsiders to analyze this crime.
If all the local LE believe a good, Christian family could not have raised a murderer, that he was 'just troubled', that's
very insular thinking IMO.
The story should be coming out by now or soon, IMO. I think we're going to see some ultra Right Wing, fanatical,
religious extremist thinking going on here. The son was messed up, no doubt, lacked empathy, lacked guidance
and goals, was programmed into believing who knows what crazy beliefs. He saw himself as a failure, and where
did that come from? People around him were probably reminding him that he was a complete failure. No wonder
he 'offed' himself. But he took innocents with him and hurt many innocents. No excuse for that.

 

[sherbetjello]

<modsnip>

I&#8217;m in no way blaming the parent(s) here, but a part of me wonders if he built these bombs &#8212; ones that the police and FBI called sophisticated &#8212; with the intent at being &#8220;good&#8221; at something?