Austin bombing suspect's home search ends

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Friday, March 23, 2018
More details emerging about Austin bombing suspect
Investigators on Thursday finished questioning the second roommate of the man they say spent weeks planting bombs around Texas' capital before using one of his own devices to blow himself up.

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KTRK) -- After nearly 20 hours, authorities cleared the Austin bombing suspect's home.

Mark Conditt lived on Second Street in Pflugerville.

Austin Police officers said he was the serial bomber that terrorized the community for nearly three weeks.

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Conditt was killed Wednesday morning after officers said he set off a bomb in his vehicle.

Afterward, police, FBI and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents descended onto his Pflugerville home.

On Thursday, officers said they discovered a locked door inside the home, where they believed Conditt constructed bombs.

Authorities cleared the scene around 4:00 p.m. Thursday.

In addition to evidence from inside the home, officers towed two vehicles.

The home's windows are boarded, the fence is mangled, and shattered glass sits outside.

Conditt had two roommates.

On Thursday, Austin police said both were detained, interviewed, and released.

While the investigation took place at the Pflugerville address, nearby neighbors had to evacuate from their homes for hours.

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They were allowed to return Wednesday night, but some said they didn't get a good night's rest.

"I woke up at four this morning and mopping floors because I kept worrying about my doors being locked and some packages coming from Amazon," Adrienne Rubel said. "I just felt uneasy."

Authorities are still trying to figure out Conditt's motive.

They said he recorded a 25-minute confession, but it doesn't give a clear answer as to why he created bombs.

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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), who represents the Austin area, said they're hoping evidence collected from his home will provide answers.

"It's unclear what the motivation was," McCaul said. "I think after the search was done Wednesday we got a lot of his hard drives, his computers, electronic devices, I think his social media will be very telling in terms of could be possibly motivated him to do such a senseless thing."

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