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The man believed to be responsible for the Christmas Day bomb attack that ripped through downtown Nashville blew himself up in the blast and appears to have acted alone, federal officials said today.
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The explosion in the southern US city left three people injured and at least 40 buildings damaged. Source: 1 NEWS
Investigators used DNA and other evidence to link the man, identified as Anthony Quinn Warner, to the mysterious explosion, but said they have not determined why.
Officials have received hundreds of hints and tips, but have concluded that no one other than Warner is believed to have been involved in the early morning blast that damaged dozens of buildings.
“We are still following leads, but at this time there is no indication that other people are involved,” said Douglas Korneski, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office.
“We have reviewed hours of security video surrounding the RV. We saw no other people involved.”
By publicly identifying the suspect and his destination, officials revealed a breakthrough in their investigation even as they acknowledged the lingering mystery behind the blast, which took place on a festive morning long before the downtown streets were buzzing with activity and accompanied by a recorded announcement. warning anyone nearby that he would soon detonate a bomb.
Investigators did not reveal the motive or why Warner had selected the particular location for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and continued to wreak havoc on cell phone service and police and hospital communications in several southern states while the company worked. to restore Service.
Warner, who according to public records had experience with electronics and alarms and who had also worked as a computer consultant for a Nashville real estate agent, had been linked to the bombing since at least yesterday, when federal and local investigators converged on a home in the Nashville suburbs linked to him.
The vehicle was seen driving through the streets of Nashville shortly before it exploded. Source: Associated Press
Federal agents could be seen looking around the property, searching the home and backyard. A Google Maps image captured in May 2019 showed a motorhome similar to the one that exploded parked in the backyard, but was not on the property Saturday, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
This morning, the police formally named Warner as an under investigation.
Officials said their Warner ID involved several key pieces of evidence, including DNA found at the blast site.
Investigators with the Tennessee Highway Patrol also recovered parts of the RV where the bomb detonated from the wreckage of the blast, and were able to link the vehicle’s identification number to a recreational vehicle that was registered to Warner, authorities said. .
The official update came as police officers provided heartbreaking details on how to respond to a Christmas morning explosion in downtown Nashville, sometimes drowning in reliving the moments that led to the explosion and offering gratitude that they were still there. alive.
“This will unite us forever, for the rest of my life,” Officer James Wells, who suffered some hearing loss from the blast, told a news conference. “Christmas will never be the same again.”
The five responding officers gave their accounts of what happened to journalists as investigators continued to undermine the motive for the attack on a recreational vehicle that exploded on a mostly deserted street just before issuing a recorded warning advising those nearby to evacuate.
“I only see orange and then I hear a loud boom. As I stumble, I tell myself to stay up and alive, ”Wells said, sometimes crying and repeating that he believed he had heard God tell him to leave moments before the explosion.
Officer Amanda Topping said she initially parked her police car next to the motorhome while answering the call before moving it once they heard the recording. Topping said he called his wife to let her know “things were really weird” as he helped guide people away from the motorhome.
That’s when he heard the RV ad change from a warning to replaying Petula Clark’s 1964 hit “Downtown.” Moments later, the explosion occurred.
“I felt the heat waves, but I lost it and started running towards (Wells),” Topping said. “I’ve never held someone so tightly in my life.”
Officer Brenna Hosey said she and her colleagues knocked on six or seven doors on nearby apartments to warn people to evacuate. In particular, he remembered knocking on a door where it was opened by a surprised mother of four.
“I don’t have children, but I have cousins and nieces, little people that I love,” Hosey said, adding that she had to beg the family to leave the building as quickly as possible.
Investigators from multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies arrived yesterday at a home in Antioch, in suburban Nashville, after receiving information relevant to the investigation, said FBI Special Agent Jason Pack.
Federal agents could be seen looking around the property, searching the home and backyard. A Google Maps image captured in May 2019 showed an RV similar to the one that exploded parked in the backyard.
FBI and ATF agents searched a home in connection with the explosion in Nashville. Source: Associated Press
He was not on the property Saturday, according to an AP reporter at the scene.
There were other signs of progress in the investigation, as the FBI revealed that it was looking at several people who could be related to her.
Authorities also said no additional explosive devices have been found, indicating there is no active threat to the area.
“It will just take us some time,” Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office, said at a news conference yesterday. “Our research team is turning every stone” to understand who did this and why.
The only known victims were three injured people.
Infrastructure damage, meanwhile, was generally felt as an AT&T headquarters was affected by the blast. Police emergency systems in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, as well as Nashville’s Covid-19 Community Hotline and a handful of hospital systems, remained out of service.
The building had a telephone exchange, with network equipment, but the company declined to say exactly how many people have been affected.
When asked if the AT&T building could have been a possible target, Korneski said: “We are looking at all the possible motives that could be involved.”
Investigators closed off the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area full of honky-tonks, restaurants and shops, as they walked through broken glass and damaged buildings to learn more about the blast.
AT&T said today it was diverting service to other facilities as the company worked to restore its badly damaged building.
The company said in a statement that it was contributing resources to help recover affected voice and data services and expects to have an additional 24 trailers of disaster recovery equipment on site by the end of the day.
The restoration efforts faced several challenges, including a fire that forced their teams to work with safety and structural engineers and drilling access holes to the building to reconnect power.
Ray Neville, T-Mobile’s president of technology, said on Twitter yesterday that service disruptions affected Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham and Atlanta.
Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary flight restriction around the airport, requiring pilots to follow strict procedures until December 30.
