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Emergency personnel work near the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 25.
Mark Humphrey/AP
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Mark Humphrey/AP
Emergency personnel work near the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 25.
Mark Humphrey/AP
An early-morning explosion ripped through downtown Nashville on Friday, wounding at least three people, shattering windows and damaging buildings.
Authorities believe the explosion was “an intentional act.”
Police responded to reports of shots fired in the area at about 5:30 a.m. CT, when they encountered a recreational vehicle parked in front of the downtown AT&T building.
The Nashville police department says a recording believed to be coming from the RV warned that a potential bomb would be detonated within 15 minutes and that those in the area should evacuate.
A K-9 team works in the area of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 25. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning.
Mark Humphrey/AP
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Mark Humphrey/AP
A K-9 team works in the area of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 25. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Police requested a bomb squad to respond, and had begun evacuating the area when the RV exploded at 6:30 a.m. local time. The blast was felt for miles.
Small fires broke out on the debris-filled streets as alarms sounded. One officer was knocked to the ground by the impact and another suffered hearing loss. At least three people were transported to hospitals with non-critical injuries, according to the Associated Press. One of them was the officer knocked to the ground.
Due to the holiday, the streets were largely vacant at the time of the explosion.
“Any other morning, it would have been a much worse story,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper told reporters.
Investigators do not believe there are further threats but are “conducting productive sweeps with canine units,” NPR member station WPLN reports. Much of downtown Nashville is sealed off.
The FBI is now leading the investigation, working with local police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Investigators said they are gathering leads and evidence from the scene, including from street and building security camera footage. They offered no motive for the explosion.
“We will supply all of the resources needed to determine what happened and who was responsible,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement. “We thank all of our first responders who acted so quickly this morning.”
The explosion occurred in an area packed with bars, restaurants and entertainment venues — before the pandemic, a popular destination.
The Nashville Fire Department evacuated the downtown riverfront, according to WPLN, and later responded to a building that reportedly caught fire.
Some photos showing damage on 2nd Ave North as multiple agencies continue to work and investigate an explosion from earlier this morning. pic.twitter.com/0cWA3oUCDl
— Nashville Fire Dept (@NashvilleFD) December 25, 2020
“It is hard to see so much glass, litter damage and debris,” Cooper said. “It looks like a blast site, which is hard to see on one of our historic streets.”
Buck McCoy, a nearby resident, streamed what he saw on Facebook Live. Footage shows a damaged apartment unit, with the windows blown out and alarms sounding.
The room was seen flooding after the sprinklers engaged, with a small fire in the nearby street.
President Trump was briefed about the explosion and will be regularly updated, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
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