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Part of the city center is like a disaster area. A violent explosion caused extensive damage in Nashville. Some point to an attack, but the case raises many questions.
On Christmas morning, urgent warning announcements echoed from a motor home through downtown Nashville, a little later the vehicle explodes and causes massive property damage. Despite a last minute evacuation, at least three people were slightly injured. The United States Federal Police FBI is investigating the incident in Nashville, Tennessee. According to police, the mobile home was apparently used as a car bomb on Friday, Christmas Day. The background of the act was not yet clear.
The Tennessean newspaper cited witnesses who said a woman’s voice counted down before the detonation. “Clean it up now! There is a bomb. There is a bomb in this vehicle and it will explode,” said an eyewitness, echoing the disturbing warning.
The mayor speaks of “catastrophic damage”
Images from the scene of the blast showed damaged houses, burned cars and debris on the street. After the detonation, the photographs showed several fires; a rising column of black smoke was visible from afar. The photos also showed broken windows of buildings further away from the blast site. Mayor John Cooper spoke of “catastrophic damage.” At least 41 stores were damaged, he said. “The attack this morning was aimed at this [weihnachtlichen] A time for peace and hope to spread chaos and fear, ”Cooper said.
The detonation caused great material damage: several vehicles burned, firefighters put out several fires. (Source: AP / dpa)
Police largely cordoned off the city center and used bomb-sniffing dogs to search for explosives. On Friday night (local time) Cooper imposed a curfew in the affected city center. “It looks like a bomb has exploded,” he said on local television. A police spokesman also said it was apparently a bomb. The explosion damaged a building of the AT&T communications company, causing failures in telephone and data connections in the region. The Nashville airport had to temporarily close due to communication problems.
Destroy, not hurt?
Police Chief John Drake said officers arrived at the scene early that morning after reports of alleged shooting. Then the announcements began, apparently from the mobile home, asking all neighbors to evacuate due to an imminent explosion. A 15-minute countdown began, and in the middle, music came from the speaker.
The area around the explosion has been evacuated: the police and firefighters are on a large scale. (Source: AP / dpa)
The six officers at the scene called the police bombing unit and went door to door urging residents to safety. After the countdown ended, there was an explosion, Drake told reporters. It was not initially clear if there was anyone in the motorhome. Police found human tissue at the scene, which is now being analyzed, Drake said. Regarding the warnings about the explosion, he said: “I do not want to speculate, but one would suspect that this person did not want to harm, but to destroy.”
Police are looking for the perpetrators
Mayor Cooper said he was speaking with the governor to declare a disaster in the affected area so that additional resources can be mobilized for reconstruction. Now is the time to “make the determination to catch the perpetrators and rebuild our city,” he said.
Current US president, Republican Donald Trump, and president-elect, Democrat Joe Biden, have been notified separately of the blast, their offices said. They both thanked the rescuers and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
With nearly 700,000 residents, Nashville is the capital of the state of Tennessee in the southern United States. Due to its many live music bars and record labels, it is known as the center of country music and is also called the “City of Music”.
