ROUND ROCK: The suspect in the deadly bombings that terrorised Austin blew himself up early n Wednesday as authorities closed in on him, bringing a grisly end to a three-week manhunt. But police warned that more bombs could be out there.

The young man behind the attacks was identified as Mark Anthony Conditt, an unemployed 24-year-old who bought bomb-making materials at Home Depot. His motive remained a mystery, along with whether he acted alone in the five bombings in the Texas capital and suburban San Antonio that killed two people and wounded four others.

Police zeroed in on Conditt using store surveillance video, cellphone signals and witness accounts of a strange-looking customer making purchases while wearing a disguise that included a blonde wig and gloves.

Officers located his vehicle at a hotel on Interstate 35 in the suburb of Round Rock. Officers were waiting for armoured vehicles to arrive before moving in for an arrest when his vehicle began to drive away, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said at a news conference.

Authorities followed the vehicle, which ran into a ditch on the side of the road, he said.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2018