The suspect on the Christmas morning explosion that shook downtown Nashville, Tennessee, identified as Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, died in the explosion, investigators said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters, officials said state and federal investigators compared the DNA of the explosion scene with items collected from Warner and his relatives.
Douglas Korenski, special agent in charge of the Memphis field office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said investigators also compared a trailer identification number that authorities say had exploded with a vehicle registered by Warner.
Surveillance video obtained by investigators showed that no one else was seen around the vehicle at the time of the explosion, Korenski said.
“We can say that Anthony Warner is the man believed to be responsible for this horrible crime,” said John Drake, head of the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department.
Donald Q. Cochran, US Attorney for the Central District of Tennessee, added that Warner was “present” when the “bomb” detonated and died in the explosion.
The authorities refused to say whether they had determined what type of explosives were used. Korenski said investigators are also working to identify a possible reason for the explosion, which took place at 6:30 am local time on December 25, as police responded to reports of gunfire in the area.
Responding officers heard a warning of an impending explosion coming from a loudspeaker system in the RV, which was parked in front of an AT&T building. The police also heard the vehicle broadcasting the song “Downtown” by Petula Clark.
At a separate press conference earlier on Sunday, one of the responding officers, James Wells, described losing his balance – and temporarily, his hearing – after the vehicle detonated.
It is estimated that 41 companies were damaged in the explosion, including the AT&T building, which suffered “significant” damage, the company said on Sunday. The Nashville 911 system was temporarily disrupted, planes at Nashville International Airport stopped and service was interrupted in Kentucky and Alabama.
The company said in a statement on Sunday that it restored power to several floors of the building and deployed 25 temporary satellite cell towers in the city.
More than 90 percent of AT&T’s wireless network was working again, although less of its business and broadband services were fully functional, the company said.