Training helped Nashville officers
Nashville police officers James Wells and Amanda Topping sped to Second Avenue downtown early Christmas morning, responding to a call for back up for a possible bomb.
They parked their police cars next to an RV. Then they heard a recorded female voice giving a warning from the vehicle.
“Your primary objective is to evacuate. Evacuate now.”
They raced to move their cars. Topping used her vehicle to block Second Avenue. Wells parked his further away from the RV then returned to help other officers evacuate residents.
The message began a countdown to detonation: 15 minutes to clear the area. The message echoed from Broadway up to Union Street.
“That's when my mindset changed,” Wells said Sunday as officers spoke publicly about the moments before and after the bomb went off.
He saw a surveillance camera above the rear view mirror inside the RV. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.
15 minutes to clear area
Officers James Luellen, Brenna Hosey and Michael Sipos were already rushing door-to-door, alerting residents to leave the area. They had arrived earlier, responding to initial reports of gunfire on the street.
The most veteran among the five officers on Second Avenue before the blast was Hosey, who has been with the department for four years.
They called dispatch to get access codes to open locked main doors to some of the buildings. Once inside, they went door to door, floor by floor evacuating residents.
Seven families were assisted out from the first building. Hosey helped a mother with four children — two in a stroller — evacuate from one apartment. Her heart was in her throat.
Music played between the warning messages coming from the RV, its windows covered and license plate missing.
Downtown where the lights shine bright
Luellen remembers hearing those lyrics. It was ‘Downtown' by Petula Clark.
Wells scanned high ground and parking garages as he went in and out of buildings. He was looking out for a possible shooter. He told others to do the same.
“At that point is when I started preparing my mind for secondary things to happen,” he said.
Their sergeant, Timothy Miller gave orders through their radios.
Three minutes until detonation
Topping, who was at her car, saw the trio of officers and started walking toward them. She was antsy. She wanted to know if there were more buildings to clear.
But then she saw Wells at his car and changed direction, to walk toward him instead.
He had returned to his car to put on body armor, preparing for a possible shoot-out with a suspect.
Wells began walking toward the RV, when he too, felt a need to change direction.
“I literally hear God tell me to turn around and go check on Topping, who was by herself down on Broadway,” he said Sunday, tearing up as he spoke.
He took what felt like three steps, when the music stopped.
He kept walking when suddenly he saw the color orange. And then heard a loud boom.
Topping watched as flames rose up from behind Wells, who was stumbling to stay on his feet. The blast rocked him hard.
“Stay on your feet. Stay alive,” he said he told himself. He had to get to Topping.
She blinked and for a second, couldn't see Wells. She said she “just lost it.” When he emerged, she sprinted toward him.
“I've never grabbed somebody so hard in my life. I grabbed him, he grabbed me, and we just ducked into a doorway because we didn't know what was coming afterwards,” Topping said.
As windows shattered glass rained down all around them. It felt like a scene out of a movie, she said.
“I was so scared that I just lost my entire detail, because I didn't know where they were,” Topping said.
He took what felt like three steps, when the music stopped.
‘Christmas will never be the same’
The five officers began checking in via radio to make sure they were all alive.
But Wells couldn't hear his radio because he temporarily lost his hearing from the blast.
Topping told the others she was with him.
They were all alive.
The bomb devastated several blocks. Flames engulfed buildings and cars. Steel, bricks and glass littered streets.
Wells was placed in an ambulance to get his hearing checked, but realized three residents were injured and needed treatment. He got out, asking the medical techs to prioritize the civilians.
On Sunday, Wells said he felt that he couldn't leave his unit.
The voice from God, he said, saved his life.
“That's what got me to see my kids and my wife on Christmas,” he said. “Christmas will never be the same for any of us.”
Yihyun Jeong covers politics in Nashville for USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE. Reach her at yjeong@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @yihyun_jeong.