NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) – The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily suspended flights from Nashville International Airport due to telecommunications problems associated with the explosion in downtown Nashville. Service was expected to resume at 3:00 PM local time.
Authorities say the explosion in a recreational vehicle parked downtown early Christmas morning was deliberate. Three people were injured in the explosion, which broke windows and damaged buildings.
THIS IS AN GREAT NEWS UPDATE. Below is AP’s earlier story.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) – An explosion shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, smashing windows, damaging buildings and injuring three people. Authorities said they believed the explosion was deliberate.
Police responded to a report of shots fired when they came across a recreational vehicle with a recording saying a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, Metro Nashville police chief John Drake said. Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomber.
“Shortly after, the RV exploded,” said Drake at an afternoon press conference.
A surveillance video posted to a Twitter account on Friday that appeared to be across the street from the blast captured the RV’s recorded warning: “… if you can hear this message, evacuate now” the explosion.
The explosion caused black smoke and flames to emerge from the heart of Nashville’s tourist hub, an area filled with honky-tonks, restaurants, and shops. Buildings are shaking up streets with explosion near an AT&T-owned building one block from the company’s office tower.
“We don’t know if that was a coincidence or if that was the intention,” said police spokesman Don Aaron.
AT&T said the affected building is the central office of a telephone exchange, with network equipment inside. A service has been interrupted, but the company has not said how widespread the outages are. Police stations reported their 911 systems shut down due to a malfunction, including Murfreesboro and Knox County, about 300 miles from Nashville.
Three people were taken to regional hospitals for treatment, although none were in critical condition, Aaron said. Authorities do not know if anyone was in the car when it exploded. Nashville mayor John Cooper said the city was lucky to have limited injuries.
Aaron previously said some people were taken to the ward’s central unit for questioning, but declined to provide further details.
The FBI will take the lead in the investigation, spokesman Joel Siskovic said. Federal detectives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene. The FBI is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating federal crimes, such as explosives violations and terrorist attacks.
A Philadelphia man who was staying at a nearby hotel said that when he heard the explosion, he knew it was not harmless.
“We tried to rationalize it was an earthquake or something, but it was clear it wasn’t an earthquake,” said Joseph Fafara. He said he traveled to Tennessee with his family for Christmas because the state has wider COVID-19 restrictions than Philadelphia.
When he went to look at the damage, police barricades had already been put in place. At noon, police dogs continued to search cars and buildings in the vicinity.
Buck McCoy, who lives nearby, posted videos to Facebook showing the water running through the ceiling of his house. Alarms sound in the background, along with cries from people in need. Fire can be seen in the street outside.
McCoy said he heard gunfire 15 minutes before the explosion shook his building. The said cars on the street were on fire and trees were blown apart.
‘All my windows have all been blown to the next room. If I had stood there it would have been awful, ”he said.
‘It felt like a bomb. It was so big, ”he told The Associated Press.
AT & T’s outage site had service issues in Bowling Green, Kentucky, about 105 miles north of Nashville, while Putnam County, about 100 miles to the east, said the alarm was unavailable to people calling from AT&T, Verizon, and US Cellular cell phones .
“Service for some customers in Nashville and surrounding areas may be affected by damage to our facilities as a result of the explosion this morning. We are in contact with law enforcement officers and are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore the service, ”said AT&T spokesman Jim Greer in an emailed statement.
According to White House spokesman Judd Deere, President Donald Trump has been briefed. The United States Department of Justice said Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen was also briefed and directed that all of the department’s resources were made available to aid in the investigation.
Tennessee government Bill Lee said on Twitter that the state would provide the resources needed “to determine what happened and who was responsible”.
The American Tennessee Red Cross announced it is working with officials to open a shelter for victims.
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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington contributed. Beaty reported from New York.