Wow. The Austin bomber is dead after he blew himself up this morning.
Here is the original press conference held this morning announcing his death and explaining how it happened:
The suspect in a series of bombing attacks in Austin, Texas, that killed two people, injured four others and terrified the entire city blew himself up with an explosive device as authorities closed in, police said Wednesday.
Police had zeroed in on the man– identified only as a white 24-year-old — in the last 24 to 36 hours and located him at a hotel on Interstate 35 in the suburb of Round Rock, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters.
They were waiting for ballistic vehicles to arrive when the suspect drove off, Manley said. Police followed his vehicle, which stopped in a ditch on the side of the road, Manley said.
When a SWAT team approached, the man detonated an explosive device inside the vehicle, the police chief said. The blast knocked back one officer, while a second cop fired his gun, Manley said.
The suspect, who suffered significant injuries from the blast, was killed.
Police said it was too soon to say if the man had worked alone. They also said they don’t know his motive.
Here’s a few pictures of the Austin bomber in the FedEx office dropping off his package bomb that exploded in the San Antonio FedEx facility. They believe he’s wearing a wig:
From what I understand, the identity of the 24-year-old is being withheld pending a positive identification by the medical examiner.