The Nashville bomber sent material with his views to acquaintances before the explosion, the FBI said

The materials could provide more information about the bomber’s motif, identified as 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner. DeBusk asked those who received the material to contact the FBI.

Warner, of Antioch, Tennessee, died when his RV exploded on 2nd Avenue North, injuring at least eight people and damaging more than 40 buildings, including an AT&T transmission building. In the moments leading up to the explosion, his motor home sent ominous warnings in a computer-controlled female voice that it was about to explode. The unusual warnings urged police and bystanders to leave the area and limited the human toll.

The warnings and scant evidence of Warner’s policy have prevented authorities from calling the bombing an act of terrorism, which is by definition an act of furthering a political cause.

Police had been told he was building bombs

While his motive remains unclear, Warner’s bomb-making ability had previously been reported to police.

A woman who said she was Warner’s girlfriend told police last year that he was making bombs in his RV, according to a statement and documents provided by Metropolitan Nashville police to CNN.

On August 21, 2019, police received a call from a lawyer representing Pamela Perry, the woman who said she was Warner’s girlfriend, the MNPD said Tuesday. Her lawyer, Raymond Throckmorton, said she threatened him with suicidal attacks over the phone.

When the police arrived at Perry’s house, they found two unloaded pistols with Perry, who said they were Warner’s. She told agents she no longer wanted them in the house and that Warner was “building bombs in the RV trailer in his hometown,” according to a MNPD report.

Police also spoke to Throckmorton, who once represented Warner and was also at Perry’s home. He told authorities that Warner “often talks about the military and bomb making. (Throckmorton) stated that he believes the suspect knows what he is doing and is able to make a bomb,” the report said.

An officer observed Warner’s house for several days but found no evidence of bomb-making, said Metro Nashville police chief John Drake. There would have been a sign of a crime, or that a bomb was being set up, to obtain a legal search warrant or subpoena, Drake said.

“I believe agents have done everything they could legally. Maybe we could have followed up more – that’s 20/20 in retrospect,” said Drake. The officers had no probable reason to get a search warrant. There was a call for help from a lady who had two guns, she needed care, and so we needed, you know, some help. There was nothing else to do. say okay, yes – you must have a probable cause. “

An officer asked Throckmorton on the phone if he could look into the RV behind the house. The attorney told the officer that Warren “didn’t care about the police” and “I’m not going to let you all do that,” Drake said.

Throckmorton denied those claims in an interview with WTVF, an affiliate of CNN.

“He was not a current customer of mine at the time,” said Throckmorton. “I certainly would never have told him not to watch it if I’m the one who said go and see what’s going on.”