Austin bombings: Police hunt for motive as they search home of suspect Mark Anthony Conditt - as it happened

Federal officials believe that are likely no more devices in the public domain

Austin bombings suspect killed after being tracked down by Texas police

The suspect thought to be behind a spate of bomb attacks in Austin, Texas, has been killed in an explosion after being cornered by police.

Police in Texas are hunting for clues as to what drove the unemployed young man to apparently launch a bombing spree that terrorised the region.

While searching for possible accomplices and warning people to be on the alert for suspicious packages, officials said that 23-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt is suspected of posting and triggering the bombs that killed two people and injured six.

The young man ended three weeks of anxiety and violence in the early hours of Wednesday when he blew himself up by the side of a road, apparently detonating a device in his vehicle as authorities closed in on him.

“The suspect is deceased and has significant injuries from a blast that occurred from detonating a bomb inside his vehicle,” Austin police chief Brian Manley told reporters on Wednesday.

The suspect lived with two housemates in Pflugerville, a town located 20 miles north-east of Austin. A local politician told a television channel it appeared Conditt had purchased materials to make his bombs from a Home Depot hardware store in Austin.

Reports said among the items he purchased were five signs that read: “CAUTION CHILDREN AT PLAY”. A tripwire bomb that injured two men on Sunday was tied to one of the signs.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the suspect had not served in the military. Although He said his flatmates were cooperating with police.

He said police used mobile traffic data to put the suspect at the site of the explosions around Austin. He said the suspect’s phone number had been used to allow investigators close in on him.

The governor said that as police continued their investigation, people should be on the lookout for anything suspicious.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, police enforced evacuations of homes and businesses around Austin and the town of Pflugerville where the suspect lived in order to search for more bombs.

But federal officials now believe with a “reasonable level of certainty” that there are no more devices “out in the public”.

Key Points

• Police surround home of suspect - named as Mark Conditt - deploying an anti-explosives robot after a search
• Suspect was said to have been homeschooled and was 'quiet'
• Residents told to remain vigilant in case further bombs are 'out there'
• Donald Trump says law enforcement did a 'great job'
• FedEx will scan every package following depot bombing
• Police unable to say whether bomber acted alone

[21 March 2018 10:08 · Jon Sharman]

"We do not understand what motive" the suspected bomber had, Mr Manley said.

"We don't know if he was on his way to deliver another bomb" when police caught up to him, he added.

[21 March 2018 10:10 · Jon Sharman]

The SWAT officer knocked back by the blast that killed the suspect suffered minor injuries.

[21 March 2018 10:11 · Jon Sharman]

"I don't know what his background is," Mr Manley said of the suspected bomber. "Hopefully as we continue this investigation we will uncover some facts."

The question-and-answer session with reporters has now ended.

[21 March 2018 10:23 · Jon Sharman]

Here is our story about what has just happened.

[21 March 2018 10:37 · Jon Sharman]

Donald Trump has weighed in.

[21 March 2018 10:46 · Jon Sharman]

Police chief Brian Manley has thanked officers and federal agents.

[21 March 2018 11:27 · Jon Sharman]

FedEx will screen every package at the Texas facility where a parcel exploded on Tuesday, according to a FedEx manager, describing extraordinary steps the company is taking in response to a series of bombings in the state capital.

The package delivery company will also X-ray entire truckloads of parcels at its sorting facility outside Austin, and then divert them elsewhere for sorting and delivery, said the FedEx employee who was not authorized to speak on the record. The source does not work at the sorting facility but was briefed on the situation.

FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey said he had no immediate comment.

The blast at FedEx on Tuesday was one of six explosions in Texas in the past 18 days.

Package screening is not routine at the nation's big delivery companies such as FedEx, United Parcel Service Inc or the US Postal Service.

The industry delivers a total of around 40 million parcels in the United States each day, industry experts said. Checking every package on a regular basis would virtually paralyse their operations.

FedEx will carry out the special screenings at the sorting facility in Schertz, Texas where the package exploded, injuring one worker, and at a second location in Austin, where another explosive device was found, the employee said. The second package was turned over to police.

"FedEx in conjunction with the authorities are field X-raying all the packages one at a time," the employee said. "From then on, we will be doing bulk X-rays of entire trailers."

Reuters

[21 March 2018 11:49 · Jon Sharman]

The bomb that killed the suspected Austin parcel bomber has been described as "a significant explosive device".

Fred Milanowski of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (ATF) Houston field division also said that investigators believe the dead suspect built all of four of the package bombs that have exploded in Austin since 2 March.

"We know when he bought some of the components. It's hard to say whether he was building along the way," he added on NBC's Today programme.

Mr Milanowski repeated warnings to Austin residents that they should remain vigilant because it was not known whether more bombs might be "out there".

Additional reporting by AP

[21 March 2018 12:43 · Jon Sharman]

Authorities tracked down the suspect based largely on information and security footage from a FedEx store in Austin, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

[21 March 2018 13:10 · Jon Sharman]

The Texas Rangers will conduct a federal-level investigation of the circumstances surrounding the 24-year-old suspect's death, Austin Police Department chief Brian Manley said earlier.

Here, police vehicles are seen outside the Woodspring Suites hotel where the final confrontation took place.

Law enforcement officials are seen at the location where the suspected package bomber was killed in suburban Austin on 21 March, 2018 in Round Rock, Texas (Getty Images)