Two young white men with somewhat similar backgrounds both end up creating bombs. One in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the other in Austin, Texas are both dead from their own creations.
According to a terrorism expert John Rogers, despite some similarity in their backgrounds that is not what turns someone into a bombmaker.
Beaver Dam Police and the FBI said Benjamin Morrow, 28, was making bombs in his apartment earlier this month when he blew himself up.
Mark Anthony Conditt, 23, has been identified as the Austin bomber. Both men have similar backgrounds. They are white men in their 20s. Both were also homeschooled with strong Christian backgrounds.
However, Rogers, who is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and currently runs RL Leaders which provides training in combating terrorism, said do not turn that into a profile.
"There's a lot of similarities on the surface in demographics. But what's really the similar string that goes through all these people is that something, they are not stable individuals," said Rogers.
He said that likely comes from having a mental illness, a bad home life or an extremely distorted political view.
"What we have found with the case of terrorism can and has occurred from all demographics, all walks of life. So what you are really looking for is not the funnel, not the commonality," said Rogers.
Usually, the person who is creating the bombs is angry and they have told someone about it.
"What you are really looking for is the outliers. What's that extraordinarily angry, unstable individual who's continuing to make these terrible threats saying to their friends and family over a period of time," said Rogers.
TODAY TMJ4 did reach out to the FBI in Milwaukee who is helping to investigate the Beaver Dam bomber. They said they cannot comment on any open investigations but they continue to look at all possibilities. They are also still looking for anyone who might have information on Morrow.
You can call in tips to 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
