Three injured in ‘intentional’ Nashville car bombing on Christmas morning

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn

Credit: AP

An early morning Christmas Day car bomb exploded in downtown Nashville on Friday, in what police believe was a deliberate attack.

A large blast was reported at 6.30am local time in a commercial district of the Tennessee capital, which hours earlier had been packed with Christmas shoppers.

Half an hour earlier, police were sent to the area to respond to a call of shots fired. They found no immediate signs of a shooting, but officers noticed a suspicious vehicle and called for a bomb disposal unit. Before they arrived the car exploded.

Three people were transported to hospitals from the scene, but none are in critical condition, according to Joseph Pleasant, Nashville Fire spokesman.

A vehicle burns near the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville

Credit: Reuters

The FBI was brought in to investigate.

Andrew McCabe, a former deputy FBI director, told CNN that an explosion of this size would be investigated as a possible act of terrorism. He said it was possible police were the target of the explosions given they were answering a report of a suspicious vehicle when it blew up.

Black smoke and flames were seen early Friday billowing from the area, which is packed with bars, restaurants and other retail establishments and is known as the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene.

Eyewitness Buck McCoy told CNN the explosion took place right in front of his home, causing his windows to be blown in.

"Everything on the street was fire," he said. "There were three cars that were fully engulfed."

A video he filmed immediately after the bombing showed the ceiling of nearby flats caved in as water poured in.

Residents could be heard screaming as they assessed the smouldering wreckage.

"All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there it would have been horrible," Mr McCoy said.

Smoke billows from the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville

Credit: Reuters

"It felt like a bomb. It was that big," he told The Associated Press.

"There were about four cars on fire. I don’t know if it was so hot they just caught on fire, and the trees were all blown apart," he said.

Trees were uprooted and at least two cars caught fire. Debris was also discovered a quarter of a mile away from the explosion, while people as far away as a mile reported feeling the blast.