Nashville RV bomber Anthony Quinn Warner likely chose Christmas morning for his devastating suicide because his “intention was more destruction than death,” a lead investigator said Monday.
The 63-year-old loner notably blew up a number of buildings when the normally overcrowded streets in the historic downtown area were largely deserted, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said on NBC’s “Today” show.
He also “gave the opportunity to clear the area” with warnings from his parked RV “that an explosion was imminent,” said Rausch, of the audio that also bizarrely played Petula Clark’s classic pop song “Downtown.”
The evidence “certainly gives you the insight that it was possible that he had no intention of harming anyone but himself,” said the senior investigator.
“It seems the intent was more destruction than death,” he said.
The massive investigation – involving federal, state and local authorities – is hampered by the fact that the IT advisor does not appear to have a social media presence, nor does it leave any suggestion of political ideology, the researcher confirmed.
“We’re not sure we’ll ever get the full answer because it’s clear that person is no longer with us” to be questioned, Rausch said.
“We may never find out the exact reason behind the activity that took place,” he added.
The agency’s director also revealed that his team was able to confirm that Warner was killed in the explosion by DNA remains from a hat and gloves from one of the attacker’s old cars.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said on Sunday that the bombing appeared to be an “infrastructure attack” targeting the AT&T building on the block, leading to massive disruptions in services in several states.
“To all of us on site, it feels like there must be a connection to the AT&T facility and the location of the bombing,” Cooper told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
“It must have something to do with the infrastructure,” he said of the attack by a man who allegedly believed conspiracy theories about 5G networks.