Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
“Austin Serial Bomber” is an upcoming episode of See No Evil that will be aired on ID on February 14, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. It revolves around the series of bombs that were planted in and around Austin, Texas, in March 2018.
The Austin serial bombings resulted in the death of two people and injured more than four individuals. 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House was the first victim of the bombing who died on March 2, 2018, when the first explosion happened. He was African-American. Draylen Mason was a 17-year-old African-American who also died of one of the blasts that occurred on March 12, according to CNN.
When Anthony Stephan House died, the incident was first treated as suspicious and was only classified as a homicide investigation once the other Austin serial bombings followed, ABC News reported. He was rushed to the hospital after the bombing and died subsequently. Draylen Mason’s death occurred after a package that was placed on the front porch of a family home in Austin was moved to be taken inside the house. In the blast that killed Mason, his middle-aged mother was also gravely injured.
In the third blast, which also occurred on March 12, a 75-year-old Hispanic woman was injured. This was after a similar package was delivered to her. On March 18, two young victims, who were 23 and 22, were walking on the sidewalk in Travis County. One of them kicked a tripwire and triggered the fourth blast. Both the youngsters were injured in the Austin serial bombings. The blast at a FedEx facility injured a female FedEx employee on March 20, 2018, as per CNN.
What was the motive behind the Austin serial bombings in 2018?
Mark Conditt, a 23-year-old white male who was identified as the one responsible for building and placing the bombs in the Austin serial bombings, also died in the final explosion. ABC News reported that the incident happened when authorities closed in on him.
The FBI and the Austin Police Department teamed up to investigate the Austin serial bombings. They zeroed in on Mark Conditt after the blast at the FedEx facility. He was tracked down and was located at Round Rock, north of Austin. As officers took positions and began following his vehicle, Conditt caused another explosion in his car and died. The impact of the explosion injured an officer was injured while another officer fired at Conditt.
Authorities reportedly found a 25-minute confession video on Mark Conditt’s phone. In the confession, he admitted to building all the explosives involved in the Austin serial bombings, CNN reported. His friends and roommates were interrogated to find out if Conditt had any more explosives. However, the police only found material to build bombs. No finished bombs were found in Conditt’s possession.
The video reportedly did not have any information as to why Mark Conditt targeted the victims of the Austin serial bombings. This made it possible that there was no definite pattern in the victims he chose. However, he did include details of his personal problems that might have led to his criminal activity. Conditt reportedly went to Austin Community College from 2010 to 2012 but never graduated.
The upcoming episode of See No Evil exploring the Austin serial bombings will be aired on ID on February 14, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
