On Christmas, residents of Nashville, Tennessee witnessed a bomb explosion created by a 63-year-old man named Anthony Quinn Warner. Within this bombing, three people were injured and 41 buildings impaired. If it were not for the six police officers who evacuated all of those near the explosion to safety, this terrible incident would have been even worse.
Warner arrived downtown at 1:22 am on Christmas day in a mysterious RV. The vehicle began broadcasting an automated message telling the residents to evacuate before the RV would explode. Additionally, the RV was playing a loud song entitled, “Downtown,” written by Petula Clark.
The first report of the incident was due to the sound of gunshots, but as police officers arrived, they found the RV and its suspicious messages, which then led them to call for reinforcements. The officers went and evacuated all of the residents before Warner’s bomb finally exploded at 6:30 am on Christmas, killing himself and harming many buildings in the area. The officers noted a time where they could no longer hear because of the sound. It is a miracle that the police were able to make it out.
The AT&T building was particularly damaged, messing up phone service throughout the area. Because of this, people were instructed to only use their phones for calling in emergencies. The news source, The New York Times, says, “The concussion from the explosion caused at least one building to collapse, and damaged dozens of others, blowing out windows and doors and flinging debris that was found several blocks away. The explosion also led to fires, flooding and power outages, cutting off the cell phone and internet services to homes and businesses across the region.”
CNN, a news network, says in an article that one of Warner’s neighbors had talked with him before the bombing. The neighbor noted, “I said, ‘Hey, Anthony, is Santa going to bring you something good for Christmas?'” Warner then ominously replied, “‘Yes, I’m going to be more famous. I’m going to be so famous Nashville will never forget me.’” This sickening warning is evidence that Warner was planning the horrific event, though his motives are still unknown.
Though investigators are still trying to understand the situation better and discover more information, some think this was a suicide attempt or an attack on AT&T, as it has been revealed that Warner’s father worked there in the past. No evidence has proven that any other people were involved in the tragic incident, but as said before, there are still a lot of unknown factors surrounding the event. We send our deepest condolences to the many families impacted by this, and we hope for everything to be repaired soon.