Anthony Warner: Suspected Nashville bomber showed interest in ‘lizard people’ conspiracy theories, sources say

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sources familiar with the Nashville bombing investigation told ABC News that authorities are investigating evidence that Anthony Quinn Warner was interested in several conspiracy theories, including some involving “lizard people.”

The lizard or reptilian conspiracy theory involves the belief that shape-shifting reptilian creatures appear in human form and are aimed at world domination.

Authorities also say Warner has spent time searching for alien life forms in a nearby state park.

It is unclear whether any of these beliefs or behaviors are in any way related to the bombing.

This is a breaking news update. An earlier version of this report is below.

In the days before detonating a bomb in downtown Nashville at Christmas, Anthony Quinn Warner changed his life in a way that suggests he never intended to survive the explosion that killed him and injured three other people.

Warner, 63, gave his car away and told the recipient he had cancer. A month before the bombing, he signed a document transferring his old home in suburban Nashville for nothing in exchange for a woman in California. The computer consultant told an employer he was retiring.

But he did not leave a clear digital footprint or other obvious clues to explain why he triggered the explosion in his parked recreational vehicle or delivered a message warning people to flee before it damaged dozens of buildings and the cell phone service in the Surface .

WATCH: Nashville PD Releases Body Cam footage of Christmas Day

While investigators tried to pinpoint a possible motive for the attack, a neighbor recalled a recent conversation with Warner that only seemed ominous in retrospect.

Rick Laude told The Associated Press on Monday that less than a week before Christmas, he saw Warner standing by his letterbox and stopping in his car to talk. After asking how Warner’s elderly mother was doing, Laude said he casually asked him, “Is Santa going to bring you something good for Christmas?”

Warner smiled and said, “Oh, yes, Nashville and the world will never forget me,” Laude recalled.

Laude said he didn’t like the comment very much and thought Warner only meant that “ something good ” financially would happen for him. He was speechless when he learned that the authorities had identified Warner as the bomber.

“Nothing about this man raised red flags,” said Laude.

While investigators continued to search for a motive, body camera video released late Monday by Nashville police officers provided more insight into the moments leading up to the explosion and its aftermath.

The camera recording of Officer Michael Sipos captures agents walking past the RV parked across the street with the recorded warning echoing and then helping people evacuate after the thundering explosion of the camera. Car alarms and sirens wail as a police force sends calls to all available personnel and people stumble through glass-strewn downtown streets.

David Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said authorities hope to establish a motive, but sometimes just can’t.

“The best way to find a motive is to talk to the person. We can’t do that in this case,” Rausch said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show Monday.

Investigators are analyzing Warner’s assets collected during the investigation, including a computer and a portable storage drive, and continue to interview witnesses as they try to identify a possible motive, a law enforcement official said. A review of his financial transactions also revealed purchases of possible bomb-making components, the official said.

WATCH: Police camera shows the moment when the bomb goes off in downtown Nashville

Warner had recently given away a vehicle and told the person he gave it that he had been diagnosed with cancer, although it is unclear if he did have cancer, the official said. Investigators used some items collected from the vehicle, including a hat and gloves, to match Warner’s DNA, and DNA was taken from one of his family members, the official said.

The official was unable to publicly discuss the matter and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Warner also apparently gave away his home in Antioch, Tennessee, to a Los Angeles woman a month before the bombing. A title deed dated Nov. 25 indicates that Warner transferred the house to the woman in exchange for no money. The woman’s signature is not on that document.

Warner had worked as a computer consultant for Nashville real estate agent Steve Fridrich, who told the AP in a text message that Warner had said he was retiring earlier this month.

WATCH: Video shows the aftermath of the explosion:

Officials said Warner had not been on their radar before Christmas. A law enforcement report released Monday showed that Warner’s only arrest was for a 1978 marijuana-related charge.

“It seems the intent was more destruction than death, but again, that’s all still speculation on this point as we continue our research with all of our partners,” said Rausch.

Officials have failed to provide insight into why Warner chose the specific site for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and wreaked havoc on cell phone service and police and hospital communications in several southern states. On Monday, the company said most of its services for residents and businesses had been restored.

Forensic analysts examined evidence of the explosives site to try to identify the components of the explosives, as well as information from the U.S. Bomb Data Center for intelligence agencies and investigative leaders, according to a law enforcement official who said investigators have explored Warner’s digital footprint and financial history.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke with the AP on the condition of anonymity, said federal agents were investigating a number of potential leads and pursuing several theories, including the possibility that the AT&T building could was targeted.

The bombing took place on a holiday morning long before downtown streets were bustling with activity. Police responded to a report of shots fired on Friday when they encountered the RV, shouting a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. For reasons that may never be known, the audio switched to a recording of Petula Clark’s 1964 hit “Downtown” shortly before the explosion.

Copyright © 2020 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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