Investigators are now saying that a massive explosion today in Nashville Tennessee was deliberately designed to kill people and destroy infrastructure.
The situation began when Metro Nashville Police Department officers responded to reports of multiple shots being fired at 530 this morning central time.
During their search of the area they came upon an RV suspiciously parked in front of an AT&T transmission building at 166 2nd Avenue.
Officers reported that a loud recording coming the RV said that a bomb would go off in 15 minutes. That caused the Nashville Police to evacuate the area around the RV. No evidence of shots being fired has been found and the call was likely intended as bait. The Department's hazardous materials team was sent to the location. Just as the bomb squad was responding at 630 am central time, the bomb exploded, leveling or damaging nearby buildings.
So far only 3 people were taken to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries and one of the police offices suffered hearing loss from the explosion.
The area where the explosion occurred looks like a war zone with burning vehicles.
As of this afternoon the FBI has taken control of the investigation to determine who was behind the attack. Law enforcement officials who monitor extremist groups told the media there was no increased chatter on right wing websites nor did they see anything on the White Supremacy sites.
President Trump was informed of the situation according to officials at the White House.
The explosion occurred one block north of the Johnny Cash Museum. Bill Lee, the governor of Tennessee said the state was providing all necessary assistance to the federal government in its investigation of the incident.
Law enforcement said that according to cameras in the area, the RV had been there since 0122 am in the morning.
Nashville resident, Buck McCoy told media occurred in front of his home and obliterated his windows. He said that everything on his block was burning. It is being reported that multiple lives were saved when law enforcement spent the hour before the explosion going door to door ordering people to evacuate and redirecting traffic.
There will be more updates as they arrive.
Update 1: Multiple witnesses are now confirming to the media that they all heard gunshots at 430 this morning. They also reported hearing a loud warning coming from the RV telling people to evacuate because the RV was going to explode.
Update 2: It is being reported that the explosion knocked out internet access for most AT&T customers across the nation. Flights in and out of Nashville have been suspended because the explosion has disrupted the airport's communications system.
Update 3: The White House has issued a statement saying, “The president is grateful for the incredible first responders and praying for those who were injured,"
A video from one of the buildings damaged in the explosion has been posted to Twitter. Another video shows vehicles burning in the street.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1342458798649331717
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