Nashville police have confirmed the huge explosion that shattered windows and shook the ground before dawn on Friday morning was a bomb and they are now using sniffer dogs to comb the area to look for any more devices.
The explosion happened at 6.40am local time and came from a parked vehicle on Second Avenue, outside the AT&T building, between Church Street and Commerce Street – an area where there are bars, restaurants, retailers and apartments.
Forty minutes earlier, police received a call of shots fired. They got to the scene but saw no evidence of a shooting.
Instead, they came across an RV. They inspected it, realized there was a bomb inside and called the bomb squad then started evacuating people from nearby buildings.
At 6.40am, while explosives teams were on their way, the bomb detonated.
There were multiple cops on the scene, including one who was knocked to the ground and has, at least temporarily, lost his hearing.
Three people were taken to the hospital in total – it’s unclear if they are cops or civilians.
No suspect has been identified and police have shut off downtown Nashville while they continue to search the area. The explosive was so intense that it’s impossible to tell whether anyone was inside the vehicle.
Newly obtained security camera footage shows the moments before the bomb detonated on Friday morning in downtown Nashville
The blast turned the camera white for several seconds while car alarms sounded and windows smashed
The aftermath shows damage in the streets. The camera was not directly at the blast site – it would have been destroyed
Emergency personnel work near the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Dec. 25, 2020
This is what is left of Second Avenue in downtown Nashville after the explosion on Friday morning. Police have not yet identified a suspect
An aerial view of the scene in downtown Nashville on Friday morning after an ‘intentional’ explosion came from a parked car
The scale of the debris was enormous. All of 2nd Avenue between The entire street on second avenue was covered with it
This was the scene in downtown Nashville on Friday morning after a parked vehicle exploded
This was the scene immediately after the explosion on Friday morning in downtown Nashville
At a press conference shortly before 10am, police spokesman Don Aaron said it was an ‘intentional act’ but he did not give any information about potential suspects or motives.
Mayor John Cooper said after surveying the scene that it ‘looks like a bomb went off’.
The area has now been sealed off while police comb the area.
‘The explosion was significant as you can see from the street. The police department, it’s partners, the FBI and ATF are conducting a large scale investigation. We do believe the explosion was an intentional act,’ Aaron said.
In a later update, he said: ‘A number of our police dogs have been called ad are searching the area.
‘These are explosive detection dogs to make sure there are no secondary devices, out of an abundance of caution.
‘We’re also going to be conducting searches of downtown buildings to make sure there’s no one in need of help.’
He revealed that police started evacuating people from the area before the explosion.
It’s unclear who called the police to report the suspicious vehicle or why they thought it was suspicious.
Residents reporting feeling the ground shake ten blocks away.
The blast caused damage to downtown buildings like broken windows, but no injuries have been reported and no serious harm was caused.
A law enforcement member walks past damage from an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Dec. 25, 2020
A K-9 team works in the area of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning
A vehicle burns near the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. December 25, 2020. It’s unclear if this was the vehicle that caused the blast or not
Emergency personnel work at the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Dec. 25, 2020
The explosion sent thick plumes of smoke which cut through the skyline for hours after the blast on Friday
Emergency personnel work at the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning
‘There is an incident involving an explosion. This is an active scene. Metro Nashville Police Department and Nashville Fire Department are on the scene.
‘There are no additional details to provide at this time,’ the Nashville Fire Department said in a statement.
Within minutes of the blast, social media lit up with people reporting that they felt it and the ground ‘shaking’.
Other videos emerged of small, break-out fires and people screaming in the street but miraculously no one has been seriously injured.
Mayor Cooper said he believes the fact it was Christmas Day means there were fewer casualties.
Speaking with assembled media later in the morning, mayor John Cooper said the area was filled with ‘a lot of broken glass and insulation that has been blown up into trees’.
He added that broken mains were sending water flooding out into the street.
‘It looks like a bomb went off,’ he said.
Cooper claimed the city’s Downtown area was quieter on Christmas morning than on other days as most residents were still asleep and were not headed out to work.
He believed that helped minimize the number of people left injured in the blast.
Debris scattered a near the scene of an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning
A building is damaged near the area where an explosion was reported on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning
Smoke rises from downtown after a reported explosion on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. Buildings shook in the immediate area and beyond after a loud boom was heard early Christmas morning
Sniffer dogs are now combing the area to look for any additional explosives
Cops with sniffer dogs in downtown Nashville on Friday morning after the explosion. They have not yet narrowed down what kind of device it was
Rocket Fizz, a candy store on Second Avenue, had its store fronts blown out by the explosion
In this photo from the Twitter page of the Nashville Fire Department, Firemen stand near damage on a street after an explosion in Nashville, Tennessee on December 25, 2020
This was the scene immediately after the explosion in downtown Nashville on Friday morning
This was the scene in downtown Nashville on Friday morning after a parked vehicle exploded at 6.40am
The Nashville Fire Department tweeted this photo of the aftermath of the explosion on Friday morning as they asked people to stay away from the area
Many of the businesses on Commerce Street had their windows blown out by the explosion
An aerial view of the aftermath of the explosion on Friday morning