Washington:
A big blast tore via a section of downtown Nashville early Friday, following police responding to reports of gunfire found a parked motorhome reportedly blaring a warning that it carried a bomb.
The explosion shattered windows and ripped apart trees but appeared calculated to spare lives, injuring just 3 persons as it detonated at 6:30am (1230 GMT) in a section of the southern US city that was largely deserted due the early hour and the Christmas Day vacation.
The blast left as lots of as 20 buildings, which includes storefronts, badly broken and the road surface charred — scattering glass, tree branches and bricks in an location filled with companies, restaurants and bars.
In a dramatic sequence of events that shattered the Christmas morning calm, police responded to calls that gunshots had been fired and noticed the car as they arrived on the scene.
A recorded message playing from the motorhome warned that a bomb would detonate inside 15 minutes — sufficient time for a bomb squad to clear the location ahead of the explosion, police chief John Drake and spokesman Don Aaron told reporters.
Witnesses told the Tennessean newspaper the warning, spoken in a woman’s voice, counted down to the blast.
“Evacuate now. There is a bomb. A bomb is in this vehicle and will explode,” one particular recalled the chilling recording saying.
Pictures shared on social media from the instant aftermath showed thick plumes of black smoke increasing from the burning RV and storefronts that had been torn apart.
The blast occurred close to an AT&T facility, and the telecommunications corporation told journalists: “Service for some customers in Nashville and the surrounding areas may be affected by damage to our facilities from the explosion this morning.”
The Nashville International Airport announced it had temporarily halted flights due to “telecommunications issues” linked with the blast.
Officer knocked to ground
The Tennessean reported that officers had been conducting door-to-door checks.
A dog walker had been heading towards the car just ahead of the blast, the paper mentioned, but police sent him back in the other path, potentially saving him from really serious injury or death.
The blast knocked an officer to the ground, the paper mentioned, and gave an additional officer hearing loss.
Both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident, which is getting investigated by the FBI and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Agents presented no achievable motive quickly and produced no hyperlink to any domestic terrorism plot.
Neither was it quickly clear if any one was in the RV when it exploded.
“This appears to have been an intentional act. Law enforcement is closing downtown streets as investigation continues,” the Metro Nashville Police Department tweeted.
Firefighters mentioned at least 3 persons had been taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to neighborhood media.
The blast was big sufficient to be felt numerous kilometers away.
The harm was “limited but it is dramatic,” Nashville mayor John Cooper mentioned, adding that the city was “lucky” the blast had occurred on Christmas when handful of persons had been downtown.
“It’s unfortunate but any other morning I think it would have been a much worse story.”
Police mentioned numerous persons had been moved to a neighborhood station for questioning, despite the fact that no arrests or facts of suspects had been announced.
US Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee led messages of concern from a number of public figures, saying she was “praying for all those involved” and thanking the “brave first responders for keeping us safe.”
Biden issued a statement saying he and his wife Jill Biden “thank all the first responders working today in response to the incident, and wish those who were injured a speedy recovery.”
Trump’s spokesman Judd Deere tweeted that the president is “grateful for the incredible first responders and praying for those who were injured.”
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