Officials: Suspect in explosion died in blast
Nashvillepolice gave a harrowing account of the Christmas Day RV bombing now attributed solely to Anthony Quinn Warner.
The NASHVILLE, TENN.— man believed to be responsible for the Christmas Day bombingthat tore through downtown Nashville blew himself up in the explosion, and appears to have acted alone, federal officials said Sunday.
Investigators usedDNA and other evidence to link the man, identified as Anthony Quinn Warner, to the mysterious explosion but said theyhave not determined a motive. Officials have received hundreds of tips and leads, but have concluded that no one other thanWarner is believed to have been involvedin the earlymorning explosion that damaged dozens of buildings.
“Nashville is considered safe,” said Metro Police Chief John Drake. “There are no known threats against this city.”
“We’re still following leads, but right now there is no indication that any other persons were involved,” said Douglas Korneski, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office. “We’ve reviewedhours of security video surrounding the recreation vehicle. We sawno other people involved.”
In publicly identifying the suspect and his fate, officials disclosed a major breakthrough in their investigation even as they acknowledged the lingeringmystery behind the explosion, which took place on a holiday morningwell before downtown streetswere bustling with activity and was accompanied by a recorded announcement warning anyone nearby that a bomb would soon detonate.
No motive was disclosed by investigators nor was it revealed why Warner hadselectedthe particular location for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and has continued to wreak havoc on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states as the company worked to restore service.
Warner, who public records show had experience with electronics and alarms and who had alsoworkedas acomputer consultant for a Nashville realtor, had been linked to the bombing since at least Saturday when federal and local investigators converged on a home in suburban Nashville linked to him.
Federal agents could be seen looking around the property, searching the home and the backyard. AGoogleMapsimage captured inMay 2019 had shownanRVsimilar tothe one that exploded parked in the backyard.