Particles litters the street close to the positioning of an explosion within the space of Second and Commerce in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. December 25, 2020.
Elliott Anderson | through Reuters
Investigators have acquired greater than 500 ideas in regards to the Christmas morning explosion in Nashville however haven’t decided the identification of the bomber, officers stated Saturday afternoon.
Native regulation enforcement is working with federal companies, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, to research the blast web site, which encompasses dozens of companies within the metropolis.
“That is the stage that we’re at on this investigation. We’re nonetheless persevering with to observe each lead that we have now, and we are going to proceed to take action till we discover out what’s occurred,” stated Don Cochran, the U.S. Legal professional for the Center District of Tennessee.
The explosion in downtown Nashville early Christmas morning shattered windows and knocked out communications networks. Authorities stated they imagine the explosion was intentional and got here from an RV parked on the road.
According to the FBI, the RV arrived within the space shortly after 1 a.m. native time, and the explosion occurred round 5:30 a.m. A warning for residents within the space to evacuate blared from the RV earlier than the blast.
Doug Korneski, the FBI’s particular agent in cost for the Memphis Discipline Workplace, stated Saturday that there isn’t any indication of a unbroken bomb risk within the space. When requested about stories that investigators have recognized an individual of curiosity within the case, Korneski stated the investigation was nonetheless taking a look at a number of people.
NBC Information, citing a number of senior regulation enforcement officers, reported that investigators had been looking out the house of Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, in reference to the bombing. A Google Streetview picture of Warner’s tackle in Antioch, Tennessee, reveals an RV that matches the outline of the automobile that exploded Friday morning.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake stated on Friday that there have been no identified fatalities from the blast, although police had been testing tissue discovered on the scene to find out if it might be human stays, according to NBC News. Korneski stated investigators are nonetheless inspecting the tissue.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper has issued a curfew for a part of downtown that runs via Sunday afternoon. Federal regulators briefly halted flights into town on Friday because the investigation started.
Social media customers have reported points with telephone and web service in Nashville following the blast. AT&T stated on Saturday morning that it’s deploying portable cell sites within the space in an try to revive protection shortly.
