Nashville blast: these six policemen evacuated residents just before the engine blast home

Nashville blast: these six policemen evacuated residents just before the engine blast home

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The voice repeated the message, counting down as the minutes passed.

As the countdown continued, six policemen who heard these warnings went into action, helping residents of downtown Nashville to evacuate before the trailer fulfilled the threat and exploded on Friday morning.
The bomb hit the neighborhood at dawn, but injured only three people thanks to the swift and brave work of the police, officials said.

“Police officers immediately started knocking on doors and evacuating residents from here, not knowing whether the bomb would detonate immediately or explode at the time it was declared,” said Metro Nashville police chief John Drake.

Clockwise from top left: Officer Amanda Topping, Officer Brenna Hosey, Officer James Wells, Officer Michael Sipos, Officer Richard Luellen and Sgt. Timothy Miller.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper praised the six policemen who responded, saying they “acted quickly and directed people away from danger to save lives, even when their own lives were in danger”.

“They are heroes. And I am grateful for them and all the first respondents from Nashville,” said Cooper.

The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department identified officers in a press release on Friday as:

  • Officer Brenna Hosey, who has been in the department for 4 years;
  • Officer James Luellen, who has been in the department for 3 years;
  • Officer Michael Sipos, who has been in the department for 16 months;
  • Officer Amanda Topping, who has been in the department for 21 months;
  • Officer James Wells, who has been in the department for 21 months; and
  • Sergeant Timothy Miller, 11 years in the department.

The RV explosion shattered windows and sent pieces of burning debris flying through the air, damaging several buildings.

Three civilians have been hospitalized and are in stable condition, officials said. The force of the explosion knocked down one policeman, police spokesman Don Aaron said, and caused another to be hearing impaired. But no police officers were seriously injured.

Mayor Cooper described it as a “deliberate bomb”, but officials still did not have a complete explanation for the unusual warnings and explosions.

Nashville Deputy Mayor Jim Shulman told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday that a female voice was speaking in the warning message broadcast from the trailer. Betsy Williams, a witness who lives in another building across the street from the explosion, described him as a “computerized” female voice.

“This area must be evacuated now,” said the voice three times.

Mayor Cooper noted the difficulties the city faced this year and expressed his thanks for the efforts of the responding officers.

“This is a year in which we understand what our first respondents mean to our community over and over,” said Cooper. “Unfortunately, on Christmas Day, you have another example of this.”

CNN’s Paul P. Murphy and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.

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