Nashville Walmart Evacuated Due to Suspicious Package

A West Nashville Walmart was evacuated Monday evening after police and fire crews responded to a [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

A West Nashville Walmart was evacuated Monday evening after police and fire crews responded to a report of a suspicious package. A police sergeant told The Tennessean the box was a seismograph left outside the store by the company conducting blasting. The incident comes less than two weeks after the Christmas Day bombing, which left three people injured and the suspected bomber dead. It also came after a shooting at a nearby Target where one person was killed.

The Walmart incident happened at the store located at 7044 Charlotte Pike at about 6:10 p.m. No injuries have been reported so far, authorities told The Tennessean. Police set up a perimeter around the store, and authorities asked people to leave the area. All customers in the store were also asked to leave, reports Fox 17.

After an employee saw a suspicious metal box, police were called to the store, a Metro police spokesman told The Tennessean. Officers saw the box from a distance and took pictures. The Hazardous Devises Unit has also been called to the store.

Nashville has been on edge since the Christmas Day bombing in downtown. On Monday, Nashville Mayor John Cooper met with city councilmembers, noting there will be a "long journey of recovery ahead" for the city, reports Fox17. Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, who also attended the meeting, said the suspect, Anthony Warner, was "anti-police and anti-government" when discussing a possible motive for the bombing. The 63-year-old Warner died in the RV explosion.

The bombing damaged 45 buildings, and seven of them cannot have people inside them. Three other buildings could be demolished, Drake said. Second Avenue will remain closed indefinitely, Drake said, reports The Tennessean.

Councilmembers also asked Drake about a report that Warner's girlfriend contacted police about him making bombs in 2019. Police recorded an information report, but Drake said there was not much police could do at the time. "We follow up as much as we can with all these incidents," Drake explained. "We had nothing leading to his desire to blow up anything."

On Sunday night, there was also a fatal shooting at the Target on Charlotte Pike. According to police, David Van Dyke, 29, shot Avery Collier, 40, multiple times, reports News4. The two did not know each other. They had an altercation at the front of the store after Collier walked in, then another in the store's electronics department, where Van Dyke allegedly shot Collier. Van Dyke was charged with criminal homicide and is now being held on $1 million bond.

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