[ad_1]
Federal agents were searching a home and checking at least 500 leads Saturday after an explosion rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas Day, injuring three people and damaging dozens of historic buildings.
The vehicle detonated around 6:30 am on Christmas morning in what police have called an “intentional act.” Officers responded to a call that shots were fired in the area, where they found a mobile home with a recording warning that a bomb would detonate “in 15 minutes.” The six local agents who rushed to evacuate sleeping residents were hailed as “heroes” for saving civilian lives.
CBS News reporter Jeff Pegues reported Saturday that the police had identified a person of interest– a 63-year-old man named Anthony Quinn Warner. MSNBC confirmed that Warner’s home was being searched in connection with the bombing. Authorities declined to confirm such details in a briefing on Saturday even after the CBS News report, but said they were not looking for “another topic.”
Tennessean reporter Natalie Neysa Alund He tweeted images of local and federal agents at a house on Bakertown Road, in the Nashville neighborhood of Antioch, for “court-authorized activity.” An FBI spokesperson confirmed the Tennessean that “information developed during the course of the investigation” led the agents to the home.
A 61-year-old neighbor, Stephen Stone, told Alund who saw the motorhome parked outside the two-story brick duplex recently. Google Street View images from May 2019 also showed an RV in the backyard.
The home was transferred from Warner to a woman via a deed of resignation just four weeks ago, according to public records. A second home on Bakertown Road was also transferred from Warner to the same woman via deed of resignation last year. The records list Warner as single.
Davidson County records showed that Warner was convicted of an unspecified felony in 1980 after an arrest in January 1978.
Attempts by the Daily Beast to contact Warner and those listed in the property records were unsuccessful.
The three people injured in the explosion were all apparently discharged from the hospital on Friday, and authorities repeatedly emphasized a point during their briefing on Saturday: the city will continue to function, even if it remains under a curfew and dealing with power outages.
“Nashville is safe,” said Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug Korneski added that authorities “have no indication” of secondary threats.
The Daily Beast previously reported that the FBI, which took over the investigation, with the help of other federal agencies, promised to “find out what happened today and bring those responsible to justice.” Korneski pointed out on Saturday that the FBI’s famous Behavior Analysis Unit is involved in the investigation.
Drake said Friday night that “tissue that we believe could be remains” was found at the site, but he was not yet able to confirm what that meant.
During Saturday’s press conference, US Attorney Donald Cochran called the blast a “cowardly bombing” and a “heinous act.” He said investigators were reviewing all 500 leads and no arrests had yet been made. The scene was a “puzzle” scattered over several city blocks, he added.
“I have confidence in the team that we have,” Cochran said. “We will discover the history of this individual or these individuals.”
Duck said saturday that all agencies were working to clear the crime scene as quickly as possible. To locals concerned about their properties in the area, Drake said: “Just know that your businesses are safe. We have law enforcement officers on every corner to protect the area. “
On Saturday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that he asked the White House for federal assistance, citing the “severity and magnitude” of the explosion that he claimed damaged 41 businesses. Lee also said he visited the site, tweeting that the damage was “shocking” and calling it “a miracle that no residents died.”
“I continue to pray for those who were injured in the blast,” Lee said.
In an advisory late Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had classified the airspace around the site of the Friday morning bombing as “National Defense Airspace” through Dec. 30, WVLT-TV reported.
An AT&T headquarters was also affected by the blast, and a fire flared up again overnight, prompting the building to be evacuated, CBS News reported. As such, as of Saturday, there were still many residents without power and emergency systems out of service in Tennessee. Several police departments said the blackout was affecting 911 calls.
“Our teams continue to work around the clock on recovery efforts from yesterday morning’s explosion in Nashville,” the company said in a statement Saturday. “We have two portable mobile sites operating in downtown Nashville with numerous additional portable sites being rolled out in the Nashville area and region.”
[ad_2]
