Following an explosion in Nashville on Christmas morning, authorities have searched for anyone with information about the “intentional incident.” Little more than 24 hours later, the Metro Nashville Police Department, ATF and FBI have made progress. They reportedly have a “person of interest.”
“CBS News has learned that [police] have a person of interest or persons of interest in connection with the [explosion] that rocked [Nashville] on [Christmas Day]” CBS’ Chief Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues tweeted on Saturday morning. A law enforcement source told the news outlet that a person of interest “has been identified” in connection to the explosion. That person is connected to the RV that broadcasted an evacuation notice, as well as a bomb warning, before exploding.
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At least three people were wounded in the attack and were transported to area hospitals. They suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Metro Nashville PD Police Chief John Drake also told reporters that investigators found tissue near the blast site. He did not say whether the tissue originated near the RV that exploded. He only said that the authorities believed it to be human.
Following the explosion, authorities tweeted out a grainy photo that showed the suspected RV driving down the street. The image didn’t provide a clear look at the driver or the brand of the RV, but the tweet revealed that the suspected RV arrived on-site at an AT&T transmission building at 166 2nd Avenue North at 1:22 a.m. CT, hours prior to the explosion.
Six officers arrived in downtown Nashville in response to a report of shots fired. They did not find evidence of the gunshots but found the RV, which blared a warning in a female voice. The officers then requested the assistance of the hazardous devices unit and began evacuating the surrounding area while the countdown continued.
CNN spoke to multiple eyewitnesses that provided their own accounts of what occurred on Friday morning. One person, Betsy Williams, told Anderson Cooper that she and her wife, Kim, heard the automated message coming from the RV. They grabbed their cat, got in the car and then headed to Nissan Stadium’s parking lot.
Another witness, Buck McCoy, said that he woke up about 10 minutes before the explosion after hearing what he thought were gunshots. He said that he looked out the window, didn’t see anything and went back to bed. Minutes later, the RV exploded, blowing out the windows of McCoy’s residence.
“I must have an angel because I survived this,” he said to CNN. “It was pretty horrendous. … It was like a movie. It really felt like the end of times.” McCoy said that he was thankful to have only suffered scratches on his face, hands and feet.
