The Other McCain

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Mysterious Explosion in Nashville

Posted on | December 26, 2020 | 4 Comments

This appears to be some kind of terrorist attack:

A bomb planted in a recreational vehicle parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded early Christmas morning, injuring three people and creating chaotic communications outages that took down police emergency systems.
The explosion was preceded by a chilling warning that urged people to evacuate the area.
Three people were hospitalized in stable condition Friday evening, and human remains may have been found at the scene, authorities said.
“We have found tissue that we believe could be remains,” Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a news conference Friday afternoon. The chief said it was unclear if the remains came from someone in the RV.
“The RV was detonated so if it was someone inside, we have no idea,” Drake said. “It was such a large explosion.”
Police were responding to a report of shots fired when they found the vehicle, with an eerie recording playing, Drake said. The voice on the recording commanded: “If you can hear this message, evacuate now.”
Police called in the bomb squad and rushed to clear nearby buildings.
“The officers immediately began knocking on doors and evacuating residents here, not knowing if the bomb was going to go off immediately, or if it was going to go off in the time that was stated,” Drake said. “The officers saved lives today, and their heroism should be noted.”
The blast occurred at 6:29 a.m. local time, before the bomb squad arrived.
The explosion was near an AT&T building, causing disruptions in phone service and 911 systems up to 180 miles away. The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily stopped flights out of Nashville International Airport due to the communications problems.
AT&T said in a statement it was “putting the full force of our disaster recovery efforts into responding to this morning’s explosion in Nashville.”

That the bomb was placed next to an AT&T building suggests that this was the intended target. So who would want to take out this communication facility and why? And why Nashville, of all places?

Also, what about that recorded warning to evacuate the area? This is further evidence suggesting that the bomber sought to destroy the AT&T building, rather than seeking to maximize human casualties, as terrorist bombers normally would. Setting the bomb at 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning, when the streets were empty, is also evidence pointing in the same direction. But that might be a red herring, an attempt to mislead investigators by creating misleading evidence. The bomb might be an elaborate cover-up to conceal another crime, as police suspected in the case of the Speedway Bomber.

The investigation will obviously begin with determining who owned that RV. Once that is known, the rest of the relevant facts will come tumbling out in a rush. Building an enormous bomb requires time and resources, as well as extensive specialized knowledge. Achieving a timed detonation, as appears to be the case here, is a difficult feat, requiring the bomb-maker to avoid a premature accidental detonation.

If the motive for this bombing is political, what sort of politics? They did not choose as their target a synagogue or a mosque, nor was the target a government building or the office of a political party. The choice of the AT&T building — what does that suggest? AT&T is a gigantic conglomerate that bought out Time-Warner a few years ago. But why would the bomber target the company’s Nashville office? This is a strange puzzle, and I’m sure when the case is solved — probably within the next 72 hours — the story behind it will be quite interesting.

UPDATE: A 63-year-old man is reportedly a “person of interest.”




 

Category: Crime, Tennessee, Terrorism

Comments

4 Responses to “Mysterious Explosion in Nashville”

  1. ‘Person of Interest’ : The Other McCain
    December 26th, 2020 @ 5:33 pm

    […] So my guess would be that Warner blew himself up in the explosion, and the real mystery is why he apparently targeted the AT&T building. […]

  2. Nashville: ‘Lone Wolf’ Suicide Bomber : The Other McCain
    December 29th, 2020 @ 10:11 am

    […] have identified Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, as the perpetrator of the Christmas morning explosion in Nashville. It is believed that Warner acted alone and that he died in the […]

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    December 30th, 2020 @ 8:35 pm

    […] Dec. 26: Mysterious Explosion in Nashville […]

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