FBI identifies Nashville bombing suspect, says he perished in the explosion



Federal investigators have confirmed the identity of the man said to be responsible for the Nashville bombing, and also claimed the suspect died in the Christmas Day explosion.

"Anthony Warner is the bomber. He was present when the bomb went off, and he perished in the bombing," U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Don Cochran said during a Sunday press conference.

John Drake, chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, also confirmed the bomber's identity, "We can tell you Anthony Warner is the man believed to be responsible for this horrible crime."

Investigators used forensic testing to match the human remains found at the scene where the RV camper was detonated in downtown Nashville. Agents were able to collect the human tissue at the blast site and match it up with DNA samples from relatives of Anthony Quinn Warner.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol confirmed the RV's VIN was registered to Warner, a resident of Antioch, Tennessee. Multiple law enforcement agencies participated in a raid of Warner's home in the suburb of Nashville on Saturday.

FBI agents visited the Fridrich & Clark Realty's Green Hills office on Saturday evening, which is Warner previously worked, FBI Special Agent Jason Pack told The Tennessean. Owner Steve Fridrich said Warner was hired four or five years ago as a contract laborer for computer consulting for the company, but he quit this month via email.

"He didn't have a computer or office here. If a computer went down he would fix it or if we got a new one in he'd put it together for us," Fridrich said. "He'd come by once a month to the office to do work. But there were also months we went without seeing him. He also worked for other companies doing computer work."

Officials believe that Warner, 63, was the lone perpetrator of the bombing near the AT&T transmission hub based on hours of surveillance footage. Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Memphis field office, said there was no indication that anyone else was involved in the attack and that there are no further threats to the public.

Authorities believe the RV was parked in front of an AT&T building at 1:22 a.m. on Friday, but were not certain if the telecommunications company was the target of the explosion. FBI is investigating if Warner was paranoid of 5G technology, and if that was a possible motive in the bombing.

Korneski said his team is "are aware of certain things online and we're looking at every possible motive."

The RV played an eerie message warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, and blared the 1964 song "Downtown" by Petula Clark song early Christmas morning.

Warner had been rumored as a "person of interest" on Saturday in several media reports.

"These answers won't come quickly and will still require a lot of our team's effort," Korneski said. "None of those answers will ever be enough for those who have been affected by this event. We still have work to do."

The FBI said Warner wasn't on the radar of any law enforcement agencies before Friday morning's explosion.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are urging anyone with any information about Warner to utilize the FBI's tipline.

"I cannot truly describe all the hard work that has gone into this investigation since Friday's explosion," Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake declared. "Nashville is considered safe."

Nashville explosion: Hero cop praises divine intervention for saving his life: 'I heard God tell me to turn around'



A hero cop is praising divine intervention for saving his life by shepherding him away from the powerful Nashville explosion.

Metro Nashville police officer James Wells is one of the six cops being heralded as heroes for putting their lives in danger to warn people to evacuate the area near a suspicious RV camper. Wells and fellow Metro Nashville police officer Amanda Topping were both at the end of their shifts on Christmas morning when fellow cop Tyler Luellen called in for back up to a report of "shots fired."

The officers discovered the RV that blared British singer Petula Clark's 1964 chart-topping song "Downtown." The recreational vehicle also played a chilling audio message that notified people that the camper was going to blow up in 15 minutes, "If you can hear this message, evacuate now."

During a Sunday press conference, Wells explained how he was walking toward the doomed RV camper, but then received a message from God.

"This might not be politically correct, but this is my truth," Wells said as he fought back the tears. "I literally heard God tell me to turn around and go check on Topping, who was by herself down on Broadway."

Nashville police officer James Wells recalls the moment he heard the explosion: "I told myself to stay on my feet a… https://t.co/NBzVR4KkkI
— CBS News (@CBS News)1609085305.0

As he was walking away from the RV around 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning, the bomb detonated in the vehicle — causing him to lose his footing and suffer temporary hearing loss from the massive blast.

"I just tell myself to stay on your feet, stay alive," Wells said as he got emotional while reliving the terrifying situation. "And I just take off in a full-out sprint. And I'm running toward Topping and make sure she's okay. And we kind of meet in the middle and we just grab each other."

Topping said the explosion was "the biggest flames" she had ever seen in her life, as reported in WCSC-TV.

"I don't know how I kept my footing but...I couldn't see him for a second, I just lost it and I just took off in a sprint towards him," Topping said. "And, like he said, I've never grabbed somebody so hard in my life."

Video of the explosion in Nashville at the site of the RV has surfaced. I’m so angry for the people hurt and the fo… https://t.co/zvZ2XqnUyh
— Robby Starbuck (@Robby Starbuck)1608932946.0

Wells, who describes himself as a "spiritual" person, said his faith is what safely returned him to his family on Christmas.

"I'm not gonna shy away from that because that's what saved my life," Wells said. "And 'good to see you' has a completely different meaning for me now."

Nashville Explosion Updates

The explosion, which has been called an "intentional act" by authorities, wiped out telecommunications services as it damaged 41 buildings, including an AT&T hub.

Several news outlets, including CBS News and Fox News, have named Anthony Quinn Warner, a Nashville area resident, as a "person of interest" in the explosion.

The FBI is investigating the possibility that Warner was paranoid about 5G technology spying on Americans, and a possible motive for the potential bombing near the AT&T transmission station.

Several law enforcement agencies raided the homes of Warner in nearby residential Antioch on Saturday.

Davidson County records show the 63-year-old Warner deeded his Tennessee properties to a Los Angeles woman on Nov. 25, according to WBIR-TV. Michelle L. Swing, a University of Tennessee graduate, told the Daily Mail that she had no idea that she was gifted the properties worth $409,000.

"In the state of Tennessee you can deed property to someone else without their consent or their signature or anything," Swing said. "I didn't even buy the house he just deeded it over to me without my knowledge. So this all very weird to me, that's about all I can say."

Nashville explosion: FBI conducts raid, person of interest named in report, FAA restricts airspace



A day after the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville, law enforcement revealed that they have received over 500 investigative leads. FBI special agent in charge Doug Korneski said on Saturday that more than 250 employees are currently on the investigation into the Christmas Day bombing, including a behavioral unit from Quantico to create a profile of the person or people responsible.

Korneski stated, "There are a number of individuals we are looking at," but added, "At this point we're not prepared to identify any single individual."

A law enforcement source told CBS News that a "person of interest" has been identified in the RV bombing of America's country music capital. "Multiple sources confirm that Anthony Quinn Warner, a Nashville area resident, had a similar make and model RV as the one in photos released to the public," the report stated.

CBS News reporter Jeff Pegues said, "Anthony Quinn Warner, a Nashville area resident, had a similar make and model RV."

CBS New York reporter Nick Caloway posted an alleged photo of a Google street-view image featuring an RV camper that appears very similar to the vehicle involved in the Nashville explosion, which authorities have labeled as "an intentional act" and had a chilling audio message.

Google street-view images, taken in 2019, show an RV parked in back yard of Person of interest in Nashville Christm… https://t.co/8J2TIjtHQr
— Nick Caloway (@Nick Caloway)1609010452.0

At 11 a.m. on Saturday, the FBI, ATF, and the Metro Nashville Police Department conducted a raid at a duplex home in Antioch, Tennessee. Korneski confirmed the FBI investigation in the suburb of Nashville, but would not elaborate any further.

Neighbors told The Tennessean that an RV similar to the one seen at the scene of the explosion was parked at the home within the last two weeks.

HAPPENING NOW: Sky5 is above the Antioch house of a possible person of interest in the #nashvillebombing. Officials… https://t.co/ZrqFTycmal
— Emily Luxen (@Emily Luxen)1609017233.0

Darrell DeBusk, an FBI public affairs officer, said information provided led to Saturday's "court-authorized activity." He said no arrests have been made.

FBI public affairs officer Darrell DeBusk said information developed during the course of the investigation led law… https://t.co/puIJIE3SUQ
— Natalie Neysa Alund (@Natalie Neysa Alund)1609008437.0

"We will find out who did this," FBI special agent Matt Foster said during a Friday news conference. "This is our city, too. We're putting everything we have into finding who was responsible for what happened here today."

CBS News correspondent David Begnaud said a law enforcement source claimed investigators are entertaining the "possibility that AT&T may have been the target or some other building or infrastructure in the area of the explosion."

"The blast caused considerable damage to AT&T, which apparently is a communication switch hub, knocking out internet & cell phone service throughout a wide area from Nashville to Alabama," Begnaud said.

The explosion caused an AT&T outage, which affected 911 operations and residential services. Nashville Fire Department chief William Swann said restoring services could take days, according to The Tennessean.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in a report released on Saturday that tissue samples found at the scene were determined to be human remains.

Authorities said there is no indication of additional threats. "Nashville is safe," Nashville Metro Police chief John Drake said Saturday. There are "no known threats" against the city.

The Federal Aviation Administration has classified airspace over Nashville as "National Defense Airspace" in the aftermath of the bombing.

The order states, "Pilots who do not adhere to the following procedures may be intercepted, detained, and interviewed by law enforcement/security personnel." The temporary flight restriction that is in effect until Wednesday declares, "The United States government may use deadly force against the airborne aircraft, if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat."

Nashville Mayor John Cooper issued a State of Civil Emergency for the affected area and a curfew through Dec. 27.

On Saturday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee requested emergency aid from the White House because of the "severity and magnitude of the current situation."

"This morning I toured the site of the bombing," Lee wrote in a tweet. "The damage is shocking and it is a miracle that no residents were killed."

The Christmas Day blast injured three individuals, all of whom were in stable condition. There were at least 41 businesses that were "materially damaged."

Six Nashville police officers are being lauded as heroes for evacuating people from nearby buildings of the explosion.

Officer Brenna Hosey • Officer James Luellen • Officer Michael Sipos • Officer Amanda Topping • Officer James Wells… https://t.co/Zid4eZt456
— Josh Breslow (@Josh Breslow)1608952903.0