EXPLOSION IN NASHVILLE
A recorded warning preceded the morning blast that injured three. Human remains are found nearby.
A warning blared, then a Christmas morning blast shook a largely deserted downtown. Human remains were found nearby afterward.
NASHVILLE — Authorities found human remains in the vicinity of the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, two law enforcement officials said.
It is unclear how the remains are related to the explosion or whether they might belong to the person believed to be responsible or a victim.
The explosion shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, shattering windows, damaging buildings and wounding three people.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said police were responding to a report of shots f ired when they encountered a recreational vehicle blaring a recording that said a potential bomb was to detonate in 15 minutes. Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomb squad.
“Shortly after that, the RV exploded,” Drake said at a midday news conference.
Surveillance video published on a Twitter account Friday that appeared to be recorded from across the street captured an audio recording that included the warning, “[ I] f you can hear this message, evacuate now.” The blast was captured on the surveillance video seconds later.
The blast sent black smoke and f lames billowing from the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area packed with honkytonks, restaurants and shops. Buildings shook streets over from the explosion near a building owned
by AT& T, which is one block from the company’s office tower.
“We do not know if that was a coincidence, or if that was the intention,” police spokesman Don Aaron said.
AT& T said the affected building is the central office of a telephone exchange, with network equipment in it. Some service was interrupted, but the company has not said how widespread the outages are. Police agencies were reporting that their 911 systems were down because of outages, including Murfreesboro and Knox County, about 180 miles from Nashville.
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted f lights out of Nashville International Airport due to telecommunications issues associated with the explosion in downtown Nashville. Service was expected to resume by 3 p. m. local time.
Authorities said the explosion was deliberate.
Aaron said three people were taken to hospitals for treatment, although none was in critical condition. Authorities don’t know whether anyone was in the vehicle when it exploded.
Aaron said earlier that some people were taken to the department’s central precinct for questioning but declined to give more details.
The FBI will be taking the lead in the investigation, said spokesman Joel Siskovic. Federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene. The FBI is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating federal crimes, such as explosives violations and acts of terrorism.
At noon, police dogs continued to search cars and buildings in the area.
A Philadelphia man staying in a nearby hotel said that when he heard the blast, he knew it wasn’t a harmless noise.
“It was a very loud explosion,” said Joseph Fafara. “We tried to rationalize it that it was an earthquake or something. But it was obvious it wasn’t an earthquake.” He said he traveled to Tennessee with his family on Christmas because the state has looser COVID- 19 restrictions than Philadelphia.
Fafara went outside to look at the damage, but police barricades had already been put in place.
Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, posted videos on Facebook that show water pouring down the ceiling of his home. Alarms blare in the background and cries of people in great distress ring in the background. A fire is visible in the street outside.
McCoy says he heard gunfire 15 minutes before the explosion rocked his building. McCoy said the windows of his home were entirely blown out.
“All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there it would have been horrible,” he said.
“It felt like a bomb. It was that big,” he told the Associated Press.
“There were about four cars on fire. I don’t know if it was so hot they just caught on fire, and the trees were all blown apart,” he said.
AT& T’s outages site showed service issues in Bowling Green, Ky., about 65 miles north of Nashville, while Putnam County, about 60 miles east, said 911 was down for people calling from AT& T, Verizon and U. S. Cellular cellphones.
“Service for some customers in Nashville and the surrounding areas may be affected by damage to our facilities from the explosion this morning. We are in contact with law enforcement and working as quickly and safely as possible to restore service,” AT& T spokesman Jim Greer said in an emailed statement.
President Trump has been briefed, according to White House spokesman Judd Deere, who said that Trump, who is spending the holidays in Florida, will continue to receive regular updates. The U. S. Justice Department said acting Atty. Gen. Jeff Rosen was also briefed and directed all department resources be made available to help with the investigation.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said on Twitter that the state would provide the resources necessary “to determine what happened and who was responsible. Please join @ MariaLeeTN and me in praying for those who were injured and we thank all of our f irst responders who acted so quickly this morning.”
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city was lucky that the number of injuries was limited.