The explosive-filled trailer parked in downtown Nashville issued an evacuation warning message, counted down and even played Petula Clark’s mid-60s hit “Downtown” minutes before it exploded in a blast of fire earlier in the day Christmas, injuring at least three civilians.
Five police officers who responded to the scene for the first time on Friday and led the evacuation efforts before the explosion told what happened during a press conference on Sunday. The first police officer to arrive at the scene, Tyler Luellen, said he was responding to a shooting call at the address belonging to a liquor store and an apartment complex and did not pay much attention to the trailer.
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Seeing no sign of gunshots, he and another officer heard the RV parked at the intersection sound a message saying that it was going to detonate and that its “main objective” was to evacuate. He communicated over the radio to warn a sergeant, and, in a hurry to evacuate residents and get his police vehicle out of the intersection, he also managed to hear some lyrics to a song that soon sounded in the trailer.
“What I remembered was the ‘city center, where the lights shine brightly,'” said Luellen, recalling how the trailer also played music and started the countdown. Not initially recognizing the song, Luellen said he spoke to an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), who pulled the song out and confirmed: “‘Downtown’ by Petula Clark was the specific song that was played.”
A trailer played warning messages and music before detonating around 6:30 am on Christmas Day in Nashville. (Metro Nashville Police)
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The suspect allegedly responsible for the explosion was identified as 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner, who authorities believe was dead in the explosion, two sources of the law confirmed to Fox News. It is believed that he owned the trailer and lived in a house in Antioch, Tennessee, which was searched for hours by the FBI and several public security agencies on Saturday.
A vehicle burns near the site of an explosion in the Second and Commerce area in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, December 25, 2020. (Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA Today Network via Reuters)
Police said initially that tissue believed to be human remains was found in the debris left by the blast, and that investigators will run DNA tests. Apart from Warner, no other deaths have been reported. Three civilians were injured. One officer, James Wells, temporarily lost his hearing with the explosion.
At the same press conference on Sunday, Wells described how the RV was also equipped with cameras.
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“There were also cameras in the RV like surveillance cameras above the mirror,” explained Wells. “It looked like whoever was behind was watching us.”
The explosion blew up an AT&T store and caused major communications disruptions, affecting cell service, landlines and 911 call centers. The flights stopped at Nashville International Airport for part of the day. It is estimated that 41 companies were damaged by the bombing and people were displaced.
Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.