Austin Serial Bombing Suspect Is Local Resident Mark Conditt: Reports

The suspected serial bomber in Austin, Texas, has been identified as Mark Anthony Conditt, according to multiple news reports.

Conditt’s name was confirmed by unnamed law enforcement officials speaking to the Associated Press, NBC and the Wall Street Journal.

Conditt lived in Pflugerville, Texas, just north of Austin, the town’s mayor told the AP.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, he graduated from Austin Community College and had worked as a “purchasing Agent/buyer/shipping and receiving” at Crux Semiconductor, a manufacturing company.

Without naming Conditt, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said early Wednesday that the man suspected in a string of blasts around the city this month — which killed two and injured four more — blew himself up as police were in pursuit.

Manley told reporters that police could not name the suspect, citing pending notification of the man’s family and confirmation of his identity by a medical examiner. A spokeswoman with the FBI did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment about the suspect’s name.

Manley described the suspect as a 24-year-old man. (Conditt’s age was not immediately clear, according to the Statesman, as some records showed he was 23.)

“We believe this individual is responsible for all of the incidents in Austin,” Manley said.

He said authorities began narrowing in on the suspect in recent days and recently discovered him at a hotel in Round Rock, a town about 20 miles north of Austin.

As police waited for a tactical team to arrive for assistance in detaining him, the suspect got into his vehicle and began to drive away, Manley said. The suspect eventually pulled over to the side of the road and detonated an explosive device, killing himself as officers closed in.

Manley said it is not yet known what motivated the suspect or if he worked alone. The investigation is ongoing.

The first bombing occurred on March 2, when 39-year-old Anthony House was killed after he picked up an explosive package on his doorstep.

Ten days later, two more explosive packages appeared at separate homes — one killed Draylen Mason, 17, and seriously injured his mother; another injured a 75-year-old Hispanic woman.

As residents of the Texas capitol became focused on packages left on doorsteps, the bomber struck again Sunday with a new method: a trip wire, which injured two people.

Manley previously said it was “very possible that this device was a device that was activated by someone either handling, kicking or coming in contact with a trip wire.”

In the early hours of Tuesday, another explosion occurred at a FedEx distribution center outside San Antonio, Texas. One person was treated and released at the scene after reporting ringing in her ears, officials said.

Until the suspect’s death, investigators had worked for weeks to stitch together clues about the bomber and his behavior and possible future targets.

Former FBI profiler James R. Fitzgerald said the suspect appeared familiar with the area.

Speaking to PEOPLE before the suspect was identified, Fitzgerald said that — generally — bombers tend to be intelligent introverts whose anger and frustration has been building up for several years.

“They enjoy the puzzle-building, if you will, of putting a device together and knowing that in a matter of time, the little pieces of metal and steel, glass, thumbtacks, roofing nails, whatever, are going to be used to rip flesh and kill their target,” he said. “The question is: Why are they choosing these targets and where will they choose to go next?”