“Attack” in Nashville: Before the explosion, the countdown sounded from the speakers – abroad

(dpa / sda / aeg / watson.ch) 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.

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.

“It looks like a bomb has exploded”

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.

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 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. On the warnings about the explosion, he said: “I do not want to speculate, but one would suspect that this person did not want to hurt, but to destroy.”

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 considered the center of country music and is also called the “City of Music”.