In Austin, Texas, police say the suspect behind the series of bombings this month has died. Authorities say he blew himself up in his car during a police chase earlier Wednesday morning. Authorities say the suspect is behind the string of bombings that have killed two people and wounded at least six more, in what authorities say may have been hate crimes.
The two people killed in the bombings were both members of prominent African-American families in Austin. The first victim, 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House, was killed on March 2. He was a construction worker and the father of an 8-year-old daughter. His stepfather is Freddie Dixon, a powerful pastor in the city and the former reverend of Wesley United Methodist Church. Police treated the explosion as an isolated incident until, on March 12, two more bombs exploded, killing 17-year-old Draylen Mason. He was a musician and a student at East Austin College Prep. Like Anthony Stephan House, Draylen Mason was also a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church, which was founded more than 150 years ago by black men and women newly freed from slavery.
Authorities have named the bombing suspect as Mark Anthony Conditt, a 24-year-old white man. They say the investigation is still underway and they do not know whether he was acting alone.