A suspect in a series of deadly bombings in Texas died early Wednesday after he blew himself up in his vehicle as he was being chased by the police, officials said.

Possible linked bombings

Unexploded package

Unrelated incident

By The New York Times

Date

Description

7 March 20

Incendiary device at strip mall injures one

6 March 20

Unexploded package bomb found at FedEx center

5 March 20

Package bomb at different FedEx center injures one

4 March 18

Tripwire bomb near sidewalk injures two

3 March 12

Package bomb outside home injures one

2 March 12

Package bomb outside home kills one and injures another

1 March 2

Package bomb on front porch kills one

How the Suspect Was Identified

On Sunday evening, surveillance cameras captured the suspect, 23-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt of Pflugerville, Tex., dropping off two packages at a FedEx store.

Officials used the surveillance footage to identify Mr. Conditt’s vehicle: a red 2002 Ford Ranger. With no license plate number, they compiled a list of all vehicles registered in Texas that matched that description.

Officials were also able to connect the pink gloves Mr. Conditt is seen wearing at the FedEx store with a purchase he made, also caught on surveillance footage, at a Home Depot.

By Tuesday evening, Mr. Conditt was considered a prime suspect.

Early Wednesday morning, officials traced Mr. Conditt’s cellphone to a hotel in Round Rock, according to the Austin police chief, Brian Manley. A SWAT team surrounded the hotel, but Mr. Conditt drove away before other special units, which had been called in to help, could arrive.

Officers followed Mr. Conditt, who stopped the truck he was driving in a ditch off Interstate 35. Officials said he blew himself up inside his vehicle as SWAT officers approached him on foot.

7 Tuesday: Unrelated Incendiary Device at Strip Mall

An old military device donated to a Goodwill store went off in an employee’s hands, injuring a man in his 30s and setting off another scare in a city on edge. But the police said that they had “no reason to believe this incident is related to earlier package bombs.”

6 Tuesday: Unexploded Package Bomb at FedEx Center

A package bomb was discovered at a FedEx facility near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in the morning. It was the first time one of the serial bomber’s devices was recovered unexploded.

5 Tuesday: Package Bomb at FedEx Center

One employee was injured when a package bomb exploded shortly after midnight at a FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Tex., which is on the outskirts of San Antonio and about 60 miles from Austin.

A law enforcement official said that the package was addressed to Austin and was believed to be connected to the other packages under investigation.

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Outside the FedEx distribution center in Schertz, Tex. Scott Olson/Getty Images

4 Sunday: Tripwire Bomb Near Sidewalk

Two men in their 20s were seriously injured in an explosion of a package bomb that was left on the side of the road. Austin police chief Brian Manley said that the bomb was possibly triggered by tripwire strung across a sidewalk, unlike the three earlier bombings.

“The belief that we are now dealing with someone who’s using tripwires shows a higher level of sophistication, a higher level of skill,” Chief Manley said.

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The scene outside the bombing on Sunday night that injured two people. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated Press

2 3 March 12: Two Package Bombs at Homes

A mother was critically injured and her 17-year-old son was killed when she opened a package bomb in her kitchen after bringing it in from the front porch. The explosion occurred at about 6:45 a.m.

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The house where an explosion killed 17-year-old Draylen Mason. Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

At around 11:50 a.m., a 75-year-old Hispanic woman was seriously injured when she picked up a package bomb left outside her house, just a few miles away from the attack earlier that day.

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The site of the explosion. Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

1 March 2: Package Bomb at Home

At about 6:55 a.m. on March 2, Anthony Stephan House, 39, was killed after he handled a box left on his front porch.

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Outside the residence of Anthony Stephan House. Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
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The damage at the doorway of the house, partly covered by plywood. Jon Herskovitz/Reuters

Linking the Bombings

The Austin Police Department quickly drew a connection between the first three bombings. “What we have right now are similarities that we believe link the three cases together,” Chief Manley said.

All three episodes involved cardboard packages that were left on doorsteps overnight.

None of the packages were delivered through the Postal Service or any other delivery services.

After the fourth bombing, which involved a tripwire, the Austin police connected it to the first three. “We are clearly dealing with what we expect to be a serial bomber at this point, based on the similarities between now what is the fourth device,” Chief Manley said

The F.B.I. confirmed on Tuesday night that the fifth and sixth bombs, which were located at FedEx facilities, were also connected to the earlier bombs. These packages, however, signaled a change in tactics — instead of being left on doorsteps or triggered by tripwires, they were shipped.

Both packages were mailed from the same FedEx store in Sunset Valley, a small city within Austin. Both packages were being sent to Austin as well.

A statement from FedEx suggested that the packages were sent by the same person.

The package that exploded at the FedEx center outside San Antonio contained shrapnel like the packages that exploded in Austin, a law enforcement official said.

The bombings in Austin have alarmed black leaders because the two people killed were African-American males and the seriously wounded victim was a 75-year-old Hispanic woman.

Anthony Stephan House

Draylen William Mason

Source: FBI

The two males who were killed were members of families with deep roots in the city’s black, religious and civil rights groups.

Law enforcement officials said that they did not have conclusive evidence that race played a role in the bombings, but that they were continuing to explore the possibility.