Images from the police body camera taken from one of the six Nashville police officers responsible for evacuating people before the Christmas attack last week show the moments before and after the explosion that shook the city center.
The 13-minute video taken from Officer Michael Sipos’s camera shows him and other officers walking in the area as they try to investigate a suspicious trailer shouting a loud warning around 6:30 am
“Your main goal is to evacuate these buildings now,” a voice can be heard from the trailer. “Don’t approach this vehicle.”
The footage shows police officers trying to evacuate families before the explosion, while the RV warns of a bomb. As Sipos and another police officer cross the street towards the vehicle, he comments on the alert.
EXPLOSION OF NASHVILLE: GOVERNOR TENNESSEE ASKS TRUMP FOR FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF AFTER CHRISTMAS DAY PUMP
“This is so weird,” he said. “This is like something out of a movie.”
“Like ‘The Purge'”, replies the other officer.
At one point, the RV started playing a song identified by the authorities as “Downtown” by Petula Clark.
“Between me and all the other officers, I think we made contact with six or seven families,” Sipos told reporters on Sunday. “At that point, officer [Tyler] Luellen who was outside, let me know that the recording had changed. I believe that was when a song started playing.
In the video, a police officer is heard observing that the trailer is parked next to an AT&T building.
“That building next door is the building that houses all the hard phone lines across the southeast,” said the official.
“It makes sense,” replied another. “Good place to put a bomb.”
Sipos then walks towards a police vehicle to put on his protective gear.
“We decided to put on our heavy signs and prepare for whatever comes after the countdown, and at that point I went back to the church street and turned the corner onto First Avenue, where my car was parked,” he said on Sunday . “Actually, I opened my trunk to take some equipment, I felt a push and I was thrown in the trunk a little and I turned to see a very orange sky and a lot of smoke.”
He runs into the blast zone, where the debris is scattered across the street and the police begin to direct people a safe distance.
“Where’s your car? Get in the car,” says a policeman.
The RV appears to be enveloped in flames and car horns can be heard from a distance, as well as sirens. A series of crashes can be heard, possibly coming from the RV.
“We are listening to attendants. It could be ammunition inside the vehicle,” a police officer is heard saying over the radio. “Don’t go outside. Don’t go outside on Second Avenue.”
As soon as Sipos returns to his vehicle, he tells another group of viewers to get away from the scene.
“Hey, you have to go over there,” he says. “Dude, trust me, please.”
Police chief John Drake attributed the actions of the police to saving many lives, as only three people were injured.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“We would not be talking about the wreckage we have here, but also perhaps about potential people,” he said on the day of the attack.
The vehicle’s owner, Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, died in the explosion, officials said. Investigators are still trying to determine the reason for the attack. The explosion damaged an AT&T building, resulting in communications disruptions in and around Nashville.