A large explosion that rocked downtown Nashville early Christmas morning appears to have been an “intentional act”, according to local police, and linked to a parked RV.
Three people were taken to hospital, with non-critical injuries, police said.
Images from the city’s entertainment district showed multiple buildings with windows blown out and masonry and rubble scattered in the street, and several burnt-out vehicles. Images from earlier showed flames and smoke, and what appeared to be the charred remains of a recreational vehicle.
Nashville police said it responded to an area near Second Avenue and Commerce Street in the city about 6.45am on Friday. “MNPD [Metropolitan Nashville police department], FBI & ATF investigating the 6:30am explosion on 2nd Ave N linked to a vehicle. This appears to have been an intentional act. Law enforcement is closing downtown streets as investigation continues,” alerted Nashville’s metro police department.
According to reports in the Tennessean, the blast was felt for miles and triggered a response from a police bomb squad as well as firefighters and other state and federal law enforcement officials. CNN was reporting that before the blast authorities had received a call saying they had heard shots in the area, and that the explosion came after the bomb squad arrived.
“The explosion was significant, as you can see, the police department, its federal partners – the FBI and ATF – are conducting a large-scale investigation to this point,” said Don Aaron, Nashville police spokesman. “We do believe that the explosion was an intentional act.”
Police later said the incident was linked to a vehicle parked outside a fondue restaurant, the Melting Pot, and investigators said an RV was involved.
Levi Ismail
(@LeviAIsmail)
Here’s what drivers saw coming into Nashville just moments after a vehicle exploded downtown.@MNPDNashville believe the explosion was intentional.
This is a developing story…@NC5 pic.twitter.com/PMTRcwf7TY
December 25, 2020
The owner of the nearby Nashville Downtown hostel told the paper guests were evacuated to Nissan Stadium for shelter. He said he got a call early on Friday from his staff reporting hearing a “loud boom” and the fire alarm going off.
The Metro Nashville office of emergency management told the Nashville television station WKRN that a parked recreational vehicle exploded and damaged several buildings.
Nashville’s mayor, John Cooper, urged people to stay away from the downtown area, as police and federal authorities launched their investigation.
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.
Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, posted videos on Facebook that show water pouring down the ceiling of his home. Alarms blare in the background and cries of people in great distress ring in the background. A fire is visible in the street outside.
McCoy said the windows of his home were entirely blown out. “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,” he said.
“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,” McCoy added.
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