A motorhome exploded in the morning of Christmas Day Friday, December 25 in central Nashville after a chilling countdown over a loudspeaker, an act “Deliberate”, according to police, and which caused spectacular damage to the country music capital.
The explosion took place at 6.30 a.m. local (1.30 p.m. French time), causing extensive damage to the facades of surrounding buildings. The explosion, in a shopping district, was felt for several kilometers around. The windows of many apartments, shops and offices have been blown out. Debris – glass, tree branches, bricks – littered the ground, water pipes were breached, and parked vehicles were damaged or burned to the ground.
At least three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, firefighters said. No deaths have been confirmed, but investigators will analyze tissue found at the blast site that could be human remains, Nashville Police Chief John Drake said. Police do not know if anyone was inside the camper van at the time of the explosion.
“We think it was a deliberate act”
“We think it was a deliberate act”Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said in an opening comment.
The neighborhood was cordoned off by the police. The FBI and the Federal Weapons and Explosives Agency took the lead in the investigation. President Donald Trump’s spokesman Judd Deere tweeted that the head of state was “Grateful to the amazing first responders and pray for the injured”. President-elect Joe Biden issued a statement in which he and his wife Jill, “Thank all the first responders who worked today in response to the incident, and wish the injured a speedy recovery”.
A police patrol, who had been called shortly before 6 a.m. for the shots fired, noticed the camper van parked in front of an AT&T company building on 2e North Avenue. Agents have “Heard a recording” coming from inside the vehicle warning that a bomb would explode a quarter of an hour later, explained midday John Drake.
“Evacuate now, there is a bomb. A bomb is in this vehicle and will explode “said a female voice in this loudspeaker message before starting a countdown, witnesses reported at the The Tennessean, a local newspaper.
Emergency evacuation
This delay allowed police to go door to door, calling on residents of surrounding buildings to evacuate. Police posted a photo of the cream-colored motorhome on Twitter, before it pulled up to the scene of the explosion and called for witnesses. Several dog teams inspected the area of the blast all morning, but could not find any other charges, Aaron said. Firefighters also examined the affected buildings for a first estimate of the extent of the damage and went door to door to look for possible victims. The authorities did not provide further details on the ongoing investigation.
The motive for this act is currently unknown. “The vehicle exploded in front of the AT&T building, we don’t know if it was a coincidence or if it was deliberate”, said the spokesperson for the police.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city had ” a lot of chance “ that there were so few injured despite damage “Spectacular”. “It happened on Christmas morning, it’s a shame, but I think any other morning would have been much worse”, because there would have been a lot more people in this shopping district, he explained. Asked about the reasons that would have pushed the perpetrators of the explosion to target his city, he explained that Nashville, temple of country music, was ” popular “. “If people want attention and publicity, sometimes they come here”, he said.
The explosion took place not far from the AT&T Tower, an iconic skyscraper in the city nicknamed “Batman Tower” because of its shape. The explosion also damaged the facilities of the American telephone company. “Service for some Nashville and area customers may be affected”, AT&T warned on Twitter, as outages were reported across the state. And the airport traffic was interrupted due to communication problems.
