Nashville hit by ‘intentional’ explosion on Christmas morning, blast heard nine blocks away
Posted Yesterday at 9:17pm, updated 32mminutes ago
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CCTV footage of the explosion
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An explosion has shaken the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early on Christmas morning, shattering windows, damaging buildings and injuring three people in what authorities say was an intentional act.
Key points:

Police first saw the suspicious vehicle about 6:00am local time
The explosion occurred when a bomb squad was called to investigate
The blast injured three people, destroyed several other vehicles and damaged several buildings

Police were responding to a report of shots fired when they encountered a recreational vehicle blaring a recording that said a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said.

Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomb squad and “shortly after that, the RV exploded”, he told a media conference.

Surveillance video which appeared to be across the street from the blast captured the recorded warning stating, “if you can hear this message, evacuate now,” seconds before the explosion.

The blast sent black smoke and flames billowing from the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area packed with honky-tonks, restaurants and shops.

Buildings shook streets over from the explosion near a building owned by AT&T, which is one block away from the company’s office tower.

“We do not know if that was a coincidence, or if that was the intention,” police spokesman Don Aaron said.

AT&T said the affected building is the central office of a telephone exchange, with network equipment in it.

Some service was interrupted, but the company has not said how widespread the outages are.

Three people were taken to area hospitals for treatment, although none were in critical condition, Mr Aaron said.
Police officer walks by charred cars and trees on street.
The explosion was felt nine blocks away after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning.(AP: Mark Humphrey)

Authorities do not know whether anyone was in the vehicle when it exploded.

The explosion, which could be heard for kilometres and felt nine blocks away, knocked one officer off his feet and caused what was hoped to be only a temporary hearing loss, Mr Aaron said.

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted flights out of Nashville International Airport due to telecommunications issues associated with the explosion.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city was lucky that the number of injuries was limited.

Mr Aaron said earlier that some people were taken to the department’s central precinct for questioning, but declined to give more details.

The FBI, the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating federal crimes such as explosives violations and acts of terrorism. will be taking the lead in the investigation, agency spokesman Joel Siskovic said.

Federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene.
ABC News