A motorhome parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded in the early hours of Christmas morning, leaving three people with minor injuries.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said police were responding to a report of shots being fired on Friday (25 December) when they encountered the RV (recreational vehicle), which was blaring an eerie recorded warning saying a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes.
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Police evacuated the area and called in the bomb squad, shortly before the vehicle exploded outside a building for telecommunications company AT&T.
The company said the building acts as the central office of a telephone exchange, with network equipment in it. The blast interrupted service, but AT&T declined to say how widespread the outages were.
A surveillance video, which was posted on Twitter on Friday, captured the warning message just seconds before the blast, which said: "If you can hear this message, evacuate now."
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After issuing a curfew for the area, Mayor John Cooper said at a news conference: "This morning's attack on our community was intended to create chaos and fear in this season of peace and hope. But Nashvillians have proven time and time again that the spirit of our city cannot be broken."
Cooper said three people were taken to hospital for treatment, and were in a stable condition on Friday evening.
Police believe the blast was intentional, but do not yet know a motive or target.
Drake said officials had not received any threats before the explosion, explaining that investigators at the scene 'have found tissue that we believe could be remains'.
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"But we'll have that examined and let you know at that time," he added.
Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, told the Associated Press he heard gunfire 15 minutes before the explosion rocked his building, which set cars in the street on fire and blew trees apart.
He said: "All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there it would have been horrible.
"It felt like a bomb. It was that big."
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A statement from Metro Nashville Police said police, the FBI and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) had launched an investigation into the 'intentional' explosion.
A press release said: "Officers responded to shots fired call on 2nd Avenue at approximately 5:30 a.m. The department's Hazardous Devices Unit was called to check the RV. As those officers were en route, the vehicle exploded outside an A-T-&-T transmission building. Multiple buildings on 2nd Avenue were damaged, some extensively.
"Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463."
Featured Image Credit: PA
