Nashville bomber to neighbor: the world will ‘never forget me’

It seemed like a friendly chat between neighbors. Only after a bomb exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning was American Rick Laude able to understand the sinister meaning behind his neighbor’s smiling comment that the city and the rest of the world will never forget him.

Laude told The Associated Press he was speechless when he learned that authorities identified his 63-year-old neighbor, Anthony Quinn Warner, as the man suspected of setting off a bomb who killed himself, injured three other people and damaged dozens. of buildings.

Laude said he saw Warner standing by his mailbox less than a week before Christmas and stopped in his car to talk. After asking how Warner’s elderly mother was doing, Laude said he casually asked, “Will Santa bring you something nice for Christmas?”

Warner smiled and said, “Oh yeah, Nashville and the world will never forget me,” Laude recalled.

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Laude said he didn’t think much of the comment and thought Warner just wanted to say that “something good” was going to happen to him financially.

“Nothing like this raised any red flags,” Laude said. “He was just quiet.”

Laude said Warner sometimes didn’t respond when he and other neighbors waved at him, but said he didn’t take it personally. “I knew he was just a recluse,” he said.

As investigators continued to search for a motive, body camera video released by Nashville police offered more information on the moments leading up to the blast and its aftermath.

Officer Michael Sipos’s camera footage captures officers walking past the motorhome parked across the street as the recorded warning sounds and then helping people evacuate after the thunderous off-camera shot.

Car alarms and sirens sounded as a voice from the police called out to all available personnel and people stumbled through the glass-lined downtown streets.

Warner left clues suggesting he planned the bombing and intended to commit suicide, but a clear motive remained elusive.

“We hope to get an answer. Sometimes it just isn’t possible, ”David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said in an interview on NBC Monday. Today Show.

“The best way to find a reason is to talk to the individual. We won’t be able to do that in this case. “

Investigators are analyzing Warner’s belongings collected during the investigation, including a computer and portable storage unit, and are continuing to interview witnesses as they try to identify the motive for the explosion, a law enforcement official said. A review of its financial transactions also uncovered potential component purchases to make pumps, the official said.

Warner had recently gifted a vehicle and told the person to whom it had been given that he had been diagnosed with cancer, although it is unclear if he actually had cancer, the official said.

Investigators used some items collected from the vehicle, including a hat and gloves, to match Warner’s DNA and the DNA was taken from one of his family members, the official said.

The official was unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Warner also apparently gifted his home in Antioch, a Nashville suburb, to a Los Angeles woman a month before the bombing. A property record dated Nov. 25 indicates that Warner transferred the house to the woman in exchange for receiving no money after living there for decades. The woman’s signature is not on that document.

Warner had worked as a computer consultant for Nashville real estate agent Steve Fridrich, who told the AP in a text message that Warner had said he would retire earlier this month.

Authorities said Warner had not been on their radar before Christmas. A police report showed that Warner’s only arrest was on a marijuana-related charge in 1978.

“It appears that the intent was more destruction than death, but again, all of that remains speculation at this time as we continue our investigation with all of our partners,” Rausch added.

Additionally, officials have not provided information on why Warner selected the particular location for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and wreaked havoc on cell phone service and police and hospital communications in several southern states. By Monday, the company said that most services had been restored for residents and businesses.

Forensic analysts were reviewing evidence from the blast site to try to identify the components of the explosives, as well as information from the U.S. Bomb Data Center for intelligence and investigative leads, according to a law enforcement official who said investigators were examining Warner’s financial and fingerprint. history.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said federal agents were examining a number of potential leads and pursuing various theories, including the possibility that the AT&T building was attacked.

Doug Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office, said officials were investigating each and every motive and were interviewing Warner acquaintances to try to determine what might have motivated it.

The shelling took place early on a festive morning, long before the downtown streets were full of activity.

Police were responding to a shooting report when they encountered the RV sounding a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. Then, for reasons that may never be known, the audio switched to a recording of Petula Clark’s 1964 hit. City center shortly before the explosion.

In addition to the DNA found at the scene of the blast, Tennessee Highway Patrol investigators were able to link the vehicle identification number of the vehicle recovered from the wreckage to a recreational vehicle registered in Warner’s name, authorities said.

“We are still following leads, but at this time there is no indication that other people are involved,” Korneski said. “We have reviewed hours of security video around the RV. We didn’t see other people involved. “

US President-elect Joe Biden called the bombing “a reminder of the destructive power that an individual or small group can muster and the need for continued vigilance across the board.”

US President Donald Trump has not publicly commented on the explosion, but has spoken with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and offered him resources and support, according to the governor’s office.