It was a terror situation in the city of Austin in Texas that lasted for 19 days when a 23-year-old youth used homemade devices to explode bombs in different locations. Two persons were killed and some more injured and he had plans to continue the terror activities. However, he committed suicide when cornered by the Police. Before taking the drastic step, he had recorded a lengthy video confession in which he described the details of the explosive devices that he had used.
The Guardian reports that Brian Manley, the interim Austin police chief, has indicated in a news conference that the suspect set off an explosion in his car when police officers hemmed him in.
The motive is a mystery
This incident in Austin has baffled the authorities. The video was on his mobile phone and was prepared in advance, probably a couple of hours before his suicide.
There appears to be no link to terrorism or any mention of hate in his confession. However, he had plans to carry out more such bomb explosions. The opinion of the police is that it was a result of the challenges he had faced in life.
The suspect was responsible for five explosions. Two people died and five suffered injuries from the serial bombings. Another device in the form of a package bomb was found in a mail near the international airport, but it failed to explode. His routine was to leave the devices on doorsteps or send them via courier companies or position them strategically in the streets of quiet neighborhoods.
When the SWAT team closed in on him, he detonated a device inside his vehicle to end the 19 days of terror.
There is a parallel
The incidents of the bomb explosions in Austin are similar to an earlier case. It goes back to 1978 when a domestic terrorist carried out serial bombings across the US. He had been doing it until 1995 when he was arrested.
He is a Harvard-educated mathematics prodigy and it took the police years to trace and bring him to justice. He is now serving a jail sentence in Florence, Colorado.
However, the individual in Austin was a home-schooled college drop-out. His mode of attack and frequent strikes helped the police to track him down with ease, and he chose suicide over capture.
Such individuals are confused and need counseling so that they can erase the misconception about people around them. They are the youth who lack confidence and belong to the category of the misguided. Their near and dear ones should be able to interpret the signs and take corrective action to restore their confidence.
