Police block off access to downtown Nashville on Christmas Day
At a press conference Sunday afternoon, law enforcement officials confirmed that 63-year-old Anthony Warner of Antioch was the man who blew up a recreational vehicle on Second Avenue North early on Christmas Day. Warner, who died at the scene, was identified based on DNA evidence.
Authorities said they do not suspect any other threats and see no indication of further suspects. Other details, including Warner’s motives and the types of explosives used, were not disclosed. FBI officials did not comment on whether the bombing is being considered an act of domestic terrorism.
Here's some reporting from our colleagues in Nashville media:
- 911 Lines and Flights Interrupted by Blast Damage to Nashville AT&T Facility from WPLN
- Nashville bombing clues include haunting Petula Clark song, questions about location from NewsChannel 5
- Second Avenue bomb site center of Nashville’s historic preservation movement from Tennesee Lookout
Cooper extends curfew into Monday
Mayor John Cooper on Sunday afternoon extended the curfew for parts of downtown, put in place after the explosion, to noon Monday. The curfew, which had been scheduled to expire at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, covers the area between James Robertson Parkway, Fourth Avenue North, Broadway and the Cumberland River.
Legislative staffers asked to stay home
Things will be a little quieter Monday on Capitol Hill than they otherwise would have been. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally on Sunday said he and House Speaker Cameron Sexton were advising legislative staffers to not come to the Cordell Hull State Office Building because of system outages.
AT&T close to restoring all services
Officials with AT&T said Sunday afternoon they had brought back nearly all of the telecommunication company's wireless network as well as 60 percent of business networks and 86 percent of broadband connections. In an open letter published at 4:15 p.m., AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh said his team was aiming to restore all remaining service by day's end.
"What has made network restoration so difficult is doing it while maintaining the integrity of an active crime scene in cooperation with federal and local law enforcement," McElfresh said in his statement. "Hundreds of employees — our own AT&T employees as well as first responders — have stepped in over the last two days to restore service. I am proud to work with so many dedicated individuals who left their family holiday celebrations and willingly answered the call to work non-stop over the last few days to restore service under some extremely challenging conditions."
As part of their work, AT&T crews have set up dozens of temporary satellite cell towers — about 40 of them in a Nissan Stadium parking lot — and 24 additional trailers of disaster recovery equipment across the region.
Resources to get and give help
If you're looking for more information about the state of affairs downtown or want to contribute to some of the early recovery efforts, here are a few links:
- For information and questions about city services related to the bombing, visit Hub Nashville.
- The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has set up the Nashville Neighbors Fund to steer grants to nonprofits focused on helping those affected by the bombing both in the near future and in the long term.
- The Community Resource Center is partnering with city officials and has built an Amazon wish list to help supply cleanup efforts.
