FBI has possible person of interest in explosion
Agents converged Saturday at a home as investigators scoured hundredsof leads in the blast that rocked Nashville.
NASHVILLE, TENN.— Federal agentsconvergedSaturdayon thehomeofapossibleperson of interest in the explosion that rocked downtownNashville as investigators scoured hundreds of tips andleads in the blast that pulverized city blocks on Christmas morning and damaged dozens of buildings.
More than 24 hours after the explosion, a motive remained elusive as investigators worked round-theclock to resolve unanswered questions about themysterious blast, which took place on a mostly deserted street on a sleepy holiday morning and was prefaced by a recorded warning advising those nearby to evacuate.
Still, there were signs of progress inthe investigation, as the FBI revealed that it was looking at a number of individuals who may be connected to the investigation. Officials also said no additional explosive devices have been found— indicating no active threat to the area. Investigators have received around 500 tips and leads.
“It’s just going to take us some time,” Douglas Korneski, thespecialagentincharge in charge of the FBI’s Memphis fifield offiffice, said at a Saturday afternoon news conference. “Our investigative team is turning over every stone” to understand who did this and why.
Around the same time, investigators from multiple federal andlocal lawenforcementagencieswereatahome inAntioch, insuburbanNashville, after receiving information relevant to the investigation, said FBI Special Agent Jason Pack. Another lawenforcement offifficial said investigators regardaperson associatedwiththeproperty as a person of interest.
Federal agents could be seenlookingaroundtheproperty, searching thehome and the backyard. AGoogleMaps image had shown a similar recreational vehicle parked in the backyard when the photo was captured in May 2019; an AP reporter at the scene did not see the vehicle at the property inthe late afternoon Saturday.
Separately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said ina report Saturdaythat tissuesamples found
at thesceneweredetermined to be human remains. Offifficials said theywere working vigorously to identify whom the remains belong to.
But questions endured about the mysterious circumstancesof the explosion, which offifficials said injured threepeopleafterabombdetonated inside a recreational vehicle. If the goal was to harm an untold number of citizens, then why did the explosivegooffffso earlyin the morning before streets were bustlingwithactivityandwhy did a pre-recorded warning from the RV announce that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes? And if the goal wasn’t human destruction, then what was it?
The attack continued to wreak havoc on communications systems across the state. Police emergency systemsinTennessee, Kentucky andAlabama, aswellasNashville’s COVID-19 community hotline and a handful of hospital systems, remained out of service due to an AT&T central offiffice being affffffffffffected by the blast.
The building contained a telephoneexchange, withnetwork equipment in it — but thecompanyhas declined to sayexactlyhowmanypeople have been impacted.