The explosion left up to 20 buildings, including shop windows, badly damaged.
Washington:
A large explosion ripped through a section of downtown Nashville early Friday after police, responding to reports of shooting, discovered a parked motorhome that reportedly warned at full volume that it was carrying a bomb.
The blast smashed windows and smashed trees, but it seemed calculated to save lives, injuring just three people when it detonated at 6:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) in a section of the southern US fiesta city.
The blast left up to 20 buildings, including shop windows, badly damaged and the road surface charred, scattering glass, tree limbs and bricks in an area full of businesses, restaurants and bars.
In a dramatic sequence of events that broke the calm on Christmas morning, police responded to calls that shots had been fired and noticed the vehicle when they arrived at the scene.
A recorded message playing from the motorhome warned that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, enough time for a bomb squad to clear the area before the explosion, Police Chief John Drake and spokesman Don Aaron told reporters. .
Witnesses told the Tennessee newspaper that the warning, spoken in a woman’s voice, counted down to the explosion.
“Evacuate now. There is a bomb. There is a bomb in this vehicle and it will explode,” recalled one the chilling recording read.
Images shared on social media immediately afterward showed thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the burning caravan and shop windows that had been smashed.
The explosion occurred near an AT&T facility, and the telecommunications company told reporters: “Service for some customers in Nashville and surrounding areas may be affected by damage to our facilities from this morning’s explosion.”
Nashville International Airport announced that it had temporarily halted flights due to “telecommunications problems” associated with the explosion.
Officer hit the ground
The Tennessean reported that officers were conducting door-to-door checks.
A dog walker was heading toward the vehicle just before the blast, the newspaper said, but police sent him back in the other direction, which could save him from serious injury or death.
The blast knocked one officer to the ground, the newspaper said, and gave another officer hearing loss.
Both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden were briefed on the incident, which is being investigated by the FBI and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The agents did not immediately offer any possible motives and did not establish any link to any national terrorist plan.
It was also not immediately clear if there was anyone in the caravan when it exploded.
“This appears to have been an intentional act. Police are closing downtown streets while the investigation continues,” the Metro Nashville Police Department tweeted.
Firefighters said at least three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to local media.
The explosion was large enough to be felt several miles away.
The damage was “limited but dramatic,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said, adding that the city was “lucky” the explosion occurred at Christmas, when few people were downtown.
“It’s unfortunate, but any other morning I think it would have been a much worse story.”
Police said several people had been taken to a local station for questioning, although no arrests or details of the suspects were announced.
US Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee addressed messages of concern from multiple public figures, saying she was “praying for everyone involved” and thanking the “brave first responders for keeping us safe.”
Biden issued a statement saying that he and his wife Jill Biden “thank all the first responders working today in response to the incident, and wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured.”
Trump’s spokesman, Judd Deere, tweeted that the president is “grateful for the incredible first responders and praying for the injured.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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