Violent explosion with advance warning: now the FBI is investigating in Nashville

Violent explosion with advance warning: now the FBI is investigating in Nashville

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, several fires could be seen in the photos; a rising column of black smoke was visible from afar. The photos also showed broken windows in buildings farther from the blast. 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.

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 shootings. Then the announcements began, apparently coming from the mobile home, asking all residents to evacuate due to an impending explosion. A 15-minute countdown began, with music coming from the speaker in the middle.

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.

Regarding the warnings about the explosion, he said: “I do not want to speculate, but one would suspect that this person did not want to harm, but to destroy.” The timing of the blast also suggested that the act was probably not about meeting as many people as possible: On Christmas Day around 6.30am, the streets were almost clear, but one business day later, many people stopped. there. in.

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. He was glad that no more people were hurt. But now was the time to “make a determination to catch the perpetrators and rebuild our city,” Cooper said.

Current U.S. 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”. (sda / dpa)