The 23-year-old serial bomber who killed two people, seriously wounded four and put Austin on edge showed “no remorse” in a confessional video that has still not been made public, according to U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin.
“He describes himself as a psychopath,” McCaul said in a news conference with law enforcement at the city’s Combined Transportation, Emergency & Communications Center during which he presented honorary flags flown over the U.S. Capitol Building to Austin’s interim Police Chief Brian Manley and other law enforcement officials.
The existence of the video was revealed by Manley on Wednesday. He said then that the video did not indicate the bomber was motivated by terrorism or racism, but that the bomber described the devices with a level of specificity that left authorities confident "each and every" bomb had been accounted for.
“To be clear, the suspect in this rained terror on our community for almost three weeks,” Manley said today, addressing thedebate over whether a clear political or ideological motive should be established before the bomber can be labeled a "terrorist."
McCaul said the string of bombings has opened up a discussion of whether to make domestic terrorism a federal charge. While terrorism is defined under federal statute, along with related criminal charges, McCaul said no charge exists for domestic terrorism.
“Someone asked me is this a domestic terrorism case. You know there’s a legal definition for that under the law. It’s actually it’s a definition; not a charge," McCaul said. "I think it’s unequivocal that this man – this individual, this sick individual – terrorized the city of Austin and this community.”
Manley said the investigation is ongoing and additional interviews will be conducted, including the possibility of repeat interviews with Conditt’s roommates. Both were detained for questioning Wednesday, but so far, no arrests have been made.
