Investigators taking a look at greater than 500 leads in Nashville bombing, officers say

0
622

Particles litters the highway 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 suggestions concerning the Christmas morning explosion in Nashville however haven’t decided the id of the bomber, officers mentioned Saturday afternoon.

Native legislation 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 website, 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 comply with each lead that we have now, and we’ll proceed to take action till we discover out what’s occurred,” mentioned Don Cochran, the U.S. Lawyer for the Center District of Tennessee.

The explosion in downtown Nashville early Christmas morning shattered windows and knocked out communications networks. Authorities mentioned they consider 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 Subject Workplace, mentioned Saturday that there is no such thing as a indication of a unbroken bomb risk within the space. When requested about studies that investigators have recognized an individual of curiosity within the case, Korneski mentioned the investigation was nonetheless taking a look at a number of people.

NBC Information, citing a number of senior legislation 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, exhibits an RV that matches the outline of the automobile that exploded Friday morning.

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake mentioned on Friday that there have been no recognized fatalities from the blast, although police had been testing tissue discovered on the scene to find out if it may very well be human stays, according to NBC News. Korneski mentioned investigators are nonetheless analyzing the tissue.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper has issued a curfew for a part of downtown that runs by way of Sunday afternoon. Federal regulators briefly halted flights into town on Friday because the investigation started.

Social media customers have reported points with cellphone and web service in Nashville following the blast. AT&T mentioned on Saturday morning that it’s deploying portable cell sites within the space in an try to revive protection shortly.