WASHINGTON – Authorities searched a house in the Nashville area yesterday as they probed into a large blast that ripped through the downtown area of the southern United States city on Christmas morning, injuring several people and damaging dozens of buildings.
The operation in Antioch came as US media reports said a 63-year-old “person of interest” has been identified in connection with the explosion, which came from a parked motorhome that blared a warning minutes before it blew up.
The blast in historic downtown Nashville, the US’ country music capital, damaged some 40 buildings and injured at least three people, with the streets largely abandoned at that hour.
No deaths have been confirmed, but authorities are examining tissue found at the blast site that they believe could be human remains.
Police said the explosion was an “intentional act”, but the motive remains unclear, and FBI behavioural analysts are involved in the investigation.
“The damage is shocking, and it is a miracle that no residents were killed,’ tweeted Tennessee Governor Bill Lee yesterday.
Media reports said neighbours previously spotted a motorhome outside the residence that was being searched by authorities yesterday, and that it appeared to be similar to the one that exploded in Nashville.
No one has been arrested, but “information developed during the course of the investigation led us to this address”, said an FBI spokesman in an interview with the Nashville Tennessean newspaper outside the home being raided.
At a separate press conference, authorities declined to provide details or discuss the reports of a person identified.
They said they are sifting through more than 500 leads and tips, and that sweeps of the area found no further explosive devices.
Federal prosecutor Don Cochran said the scene is “like a giant jigsaw puzzle created by a bomb that throws pieces of evidence across multiple city blocks”.
The investigation includes some 250 FBI agents, analysts and other staff, said the agency’s Doug Korneski.
“We have over 500 investigative leads, and we’re following up on every one of those.
“So, there are a number of individuals that we’re looking at. So at this point, we’re not prepared to identify any single individual.”
He added, however, that “at this point, we don’t have any indication that we are looking for another subject”.
Emergency request
The governor toured the site yesterday and said he has asked President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency, a technical move that triggers federal assistance to repair damage.
“These buildings, many of which are historic, and others will need to be assessed by an engineer for structural integrity and safety,” said Lee in his request.
According to a timeline provided by authorities, police were called to the area to respond to gunfire at 5.30am, and officers spotted the motorhome at 6am.
Fifteen minutes later, they heard an audio countdown coming from the vehicle warning of a bomb – interspersed with music – and the need to evacuate.
Police have not said if anyone was inside the motorhome at the time, but lauded the officers who arrived at the scene and took quick action.
“Instead of taking it as just maybe a threat and calling in and getting resources, they immediately began knocking on doors, they coordinated the resources to get everyone evacuated and out,” said Nashville police chief John Drake.
The motorhome was parked in front of a building for phone company AT&T, causing damage that disrupted telecommunications service in Tennessee, as well as parts of Alabama and Kentucky.
AT&T yesterday said two portable cell sites are operating in downtown Nashville, and additional portable sites are being deployed in the region to restore service. – AFP, December 27, 2020
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