NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) – An explosion shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, smashing windows, damaging buildings and injuring three people. Authorities said they believed the explosion was deliberate.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said police responded to a report of shots fired when they came across a recreational vehicle with a recording that said a potential bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomber.
“Shortly after, the RV exploded,” said Drake at an afternoon press conference.
Surveillance video posted to a Twitter account on Friday that appeared to have been recorded across the street captured an audio recording warning, “… if you can hear this message, evacuate now.” Seconds later, the explosion was captured on surveillance video.
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said three people were taken to local hospitals for treatment, although none were in critical condition. However, authorities do not know if anyone was in the vehicle when it exploded.
Aaron previously said some people were taken to the ward’s central unit for questioning, but declined to provide further details.
The FBI will lead the investigation, spokesman Joel Siskovic said. Federal detectives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene. The FBI is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating federal crimes, such as explosives violations and terrorist attacks.
At noon, police dogs continued to search cars and buildings in the vicinity.
A Philadelphia man who was staying at a nearby hotel said he knew it wasn’t a harmless sound when he heard the explosion.
“It was a very loud explosion,” said Joseph Fafara. “We tried to argue that it was an earthquake or something. But it was clear it wasn’t an earthquake. He said he traveled with his family to Tennessee for Christmas because the state has wider COVID-19 restrictions than Philadelphia.
Fafara went out to look at the damage, but police barricades had already been set up.
Black smoke and flames were seen early Friday from the area, which is full of bars, restaurants and other shops and known as the heart of Nashville’s tourist hub.
Buildings shook in the immediate vicinity and beyond after a loud bang was heard. An AT&T facility was one of the buildings affected. A shift was interrupted, the company said.
“Service for some customers in Nashville and surrounding areas may be affected by damage to our facilities as a result of the explosion this morning. We are in contact with law enforcement officers and are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore the service, ”said AT&T spokesman Jim Greer in an emailed statement.
The RV was parked at a building owned by AT&T, one block from the AT&T office tower. “We don’t know if that was a coincidence or if that was the intention,” Aaron said.
Some police stations are reporting that their 911 systems are not working due to the AT&T outage. Murfreesboro police said via Twitter that the 911 lines are currently unavailable due to an AT&T outage. Knox County, whic h includes Knoxville, reported similar problems with its 911 lines.
Buck McCoy, who lives nearby, posted videos to Facebook showing the water running through the ceiling of his house. Alarms sound in the background and screams of people in dire distress sound in the background. Fire can be seen in the street outside.
McCoy says he heard gunfire 15 minutes before the explosion shook his building. McCoy said the windows of his house had been blown all the way out.
‘All my windows have all been blown to the next room. If I had stood there it would have been awful, ”he said.
‘It felt like a bomb. It was so big, ”he told The Associated Press.
‘About four cars were on fire. I don’t know if it was so hot that they caught fire and the trees were all blown apart, ”he said.
President Donald Trump has been informed, according to White House spokesman Judd Deere, who said Trump, who spends the Florida vacation, will continue to receive regular updates. The United States Department of Justice said Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen was also briefed and directed that all of the department’s resources were made available to aid in the investigation.
Tennessee government Bill Lee said on Twitter that the state would provide the resources needed “to determine what happened and who was responsible. Please join @MariaLeeTN and me to pray for those who have been injured and we thank all our first responders who acted so quickly this morning. “
Nashville mayor John Cooper said the city was lucky to have limited injuries.
The American Tennessee Red Cross announced it is working with officials to open a shelter for victims.
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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington contributed. Beaty reported from New York.