Identify alleged responsible for explosion in Nashville 2:32
(CNN) -
Authorities identified Anthony Quinn Warner as the Nashville bomber after comparing his DNA with remains found at the scene of the blast.
“We have concluded that an individual named Anthony Warner is the attacker.
He was there when the bomb went off and then he died, ”said Don Cochran, attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, during a news conference Sunday night.
DNA taken from the scene was compared to Warner by forensic analysts, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said at the news conference.
Warner, 63, of nearby Antioch, Tennessee, had already been identified as a person of interest in the explosion of an RV in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning.
The violence from the blast was captured on Nashville police surveillance video posted to Twitter Sunday night.
The blast damaged dozens of buildings, injured three people and knocked out AT&T wireless service in and around Nashville.
This is video of Friday morning's explosion recorded by an MNPD camera at 2nd Ave N & Commerce St. pic.twitter.com/3vaXhoUOAR
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- Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) December 28, 2020
There is no indication that anyone else is involved and the motive has not been determined, said Douglas Korneski, the FBI special agent in charge of the Memphis field office.
During a press conference, Korneski declined to comment when asked if the explosion could be considered domestic terrorism.
Forensic analysts at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation compared DNA taken from the scene of the blast with that from Warner, Korneski said.
A vehicle identification number on the RV also matched Warner, he said.
Korneski said anyone who has met or encountered Warner should contact the FBI so investigators can establish motive.
"These answers will not come quickly," he said.
"Although we may be able to answer some of those questions ... none of those answers will be sufficient for those affected by this event."
When asked by a reporter if Warner had previously been on police radar, Rausch replied, "No, it wasn't."
The researchers were able to match DNA samples to Warner quickly because they were able to collect DNA from family members, Korneski said.
Authorities previously said they believed Warner's remains were found at the scene of the blast, according to several law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the investigation, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity.
The FBI also collected DNA from Warner's home, which they began searching on Saturday, those sources said.
Listen to the message from the motorhome before exploding 1:44
CNN has tried to contact members of the Warner family but has received no response.
Authorities continue to investigate the Christmas morning explosion that dealt another blow to a city that its mayor says has already had its "most difficult year."
Three people were injured in the blast early Friday and dozens of buildings were damaged.
But authorities say more people could have been injured if not for the quick response of six police officers who evacuated residents after a disturbing recorded message from the motorhome warned that the vehicle would explode in minutes.
That is exactly what happened next.
The blast tore through buildings, smashed windows and left the street littered with branches, glass and burning debris.
This is what we know so far.
What happened?
Police said a square white caravan arrived on 2nd Avenue North in downtown Nashville at 1:22 a.m. (2:22 a.m. ET) on Friday.
Later, they tweeted an image of the vehicle.
Several hours later, a resident in the area said she woke up with what sounded like "an automatic weapon."
When he heard the sound again, he called 911. Police said they were called to the scene after a shooting report around 5:30 am.
When officers responded to the scene, they found a white motorhome parked in front of an AT&T broadcast building repeatedly issuing a warning that an explosion would occur in 15 minutes, police said.
A computerized voice warned residents to "evacuate now," the resident recalled.
Nashville police officers involved in the response told reporters Sunday morning that the recording changed while they were working to evacuate residents from nearby buildings, finally giving a three-minute warning, in addition to playing the song of 1964 "Downtown" by Petula Clark.
The explosion occurred at 6:30 am.
MIRA
: Nashville: they identify the alleged person responsible for the explosion at Christmas
Authorities went to a house after the explosion
Public records show that Warner owned a home on Bakertown Road in Antioch until November 25, 2020, when he signed a deed of resignation giving ownership of the home to a woman.
Federal investigators were at the home Saturday conducting "court-authorized activities," FBI spokesman Jason Pack told CNN.
Pump technicians cleared the home to make sure it was safe for the test team to enter, Pack said, but they did not confirm who lives at that address.
FBI and ATF agents searched a home in Antioch, Tennessee.
A notice about the motor home involved in the blast led law enforcement officers to the Bakertown Road home, an agent told CNN.
A motorhome seen on Google Street View at the home appears to match the image authorities released when they asked people for information about the vehicle.
Investigators believe that the RV seen in the photos is the same one at the center of the blast, the police source said, but they cannot be sure because it was destroyed by the blast.
CNN's analysis of Google Street View images indicates that the motorhome has been around the property since at least April 2013.
Two neighbors told CNN that they had definitely seen the motorhome featured in Google's satellite photos.
They said that while they hadn't been out much in the colder weather, they remember seeing her parked there during the summer.
Warner had previously transferred his other property on Bakertown Road to the same woman in 2019, according to public records.
Warner previously held a user license with permission to handle explosives
Warner received a user license with permission to handle explosives in November 2013 that expired in November 2016, public records show.
He also received an alarm contractor license in November 1993, which expired in 1998, according to Tennessee licensing records.
A man who hired Warner as a computer consultant told CNN that "the Tony Warner we knew is a good person who never showed any behavior that was less than professional."
Steve Fridrich of Fridrich & Clark LLC said in a statement that Warner worked for his real estate agency as an independent contractor for several years, servicing the firm's computers.
Warner said earlier this month that it would be retiring and that the company has had no contact with Warner since then, Fridrich said.
When he learned that Warner was a suspect in the bombing, Fridrich said he notified authorities about the work he had done for his company.
Officials have not linked the explosion to terrorism
Investigators are looking at "each and every possible motive" for the bombing, Korneski said during a news conference Sunday night.
Korneski was asked about Warner associates who were being questioned about Warner's possible beliefs about telecommunications.
"We are not in a position to speculate on that now," Korneski said, adding that they are interviewing people who knew Warner or were familiar with his ideology.
The Nashville explosion timeline of events 0:57
The attack has not been considered an act of internal terrorism because it would have to be linked to an ideology or committed in support of a political or social ideology, Korneski said.
Officials have not linked the blast in any way to terrorism and, according to a federal law enforcement source, there were no known credible threats in the Nashville area that would have signaled an imminent attack on or before Christmas.
A second law enforcement source said federal authorities are unaware of an increase in nationwide conversations by known extremist groups indicating credible plans to carry out attacks during the holidays.
While investigators continue to collect information on who may have been responsible for the blast and why, one expert says the blast was probably not supposed to cause a mass carnage.
"What makes this so puzzling is the fact that it doesn't seem like the person or people who conspired to do this had any interest in causing any kind of massive casualties," said James Gagliano, a retired FBI special agent and analyst. from CNN on Law Enforcement.
Mayor John Cooper said the explosion "clearly occurred when no one was around."
"It would be a different message if it was 5 pm on a Friday," said the mayor.
"It seems intentional, but it seems like a unique case."
AT&T says wireless service has been largely restored
AT&T, which said one of its network hubs was damaged in the blast, said Sunday that wireless service in and around Nashville has been largely restored.
The network center in downtown Nashville "suffered significant damage in the explosion," AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh said in a letter to customers Sunday night.
AT&T was able to divert some of the network traffic, but not all.
"Because of its importance to customers and responders, we prioritize restoring wireless service," McElfresh said.
“As of now, 96% of our wireless network has been restored, 60% of our business services have been restored, and 86% of our consumer broadband and entertainment services have been restored.
Our goal is to restore all services today.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, AT&T service in Nashville remained online thanks to backup power supplies.
"Unfortunately, a combination of the explosion and the resulting fire and water damage wiped out a number of backup power generators intended to power the batteries," McElfresh said.
"That caused service disruptions in parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama."
When a network hub is disrupted, usually by a hurricane or other natural disaster, some of the Internet traffic can be diverted, but not all;
that's why customers in Nashville and other parts of the state reported losing wireless phone service and other connectivity.
An AT&T spokesperson declined to comment on speculation that its facility may have been the target of the suspected suicide bomber.
CNN's parent company, WarnerMedia, is owned by AT&T.
CNN's Natasha Chen, Margaret Given, Kay Jones, Eric Levenson, Paul P. Murphy, Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, Hollie Silverman, and Brian Stelter contributed to this report.
Nashville explosion