Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Downtown Nashville Sealed Off After "Intentional" Explosion; Official: "Several Buildings" Damaged, at least Three people Injured; Explosion Happened as Bomb Squad Responded to Report of Suspicious Vehicle near AT&T Building. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired December 25, 2020 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: At the scene of what police believe was an intentional explosion in Downtown Nashville. Right now, officials are holdings a news conference. Let's listen.

DON AARON, SPOKESPERSON METRO NASHVILLE POLICE: -- responded. They saw no immediate evidence of shots fired, but they did encounter a suspicious vehicle, an RV, that was parked in front of the AT&T building at 166 Second Avenue North.

The officers had caused to ask for the hazardous devices' unit, our bomb squad to respond. As the hazardous devices' unit was responding to the Downtown area, the RV exploded at 6:30 this morning. We do believe this to have been an intentional act. Significant damage has been done to the infrastructure there on Second Avenue North.

The FBI, the ATF and the metro police department are conducting a full-scale investigation. Resources from our federal partners are coming in from outside of the Nashville area to assist in this, and we will be conducting this investigation for the next number of days.

There will be another news briefing at noon here at the same spot. I anticipate Chief Drake and the FBI will be participating in that news briefing again at noon. ATF, FBI, et cetera, are all at the scene. Our hazardous devices unit is within as well.

As you know, the Downtown area, the immediate Downtown area has been sealed off by law enforcement as we conduct this investigation. A number of our police dogs - excuse me -- a number of our police dogs have been called and are now searching the area, these are explosive detection dogs to make sure that are there are no secondary devices.

We have no indication that there are secondary devices. However, out of an abundance of caution we have a number of dogs that are conducting sweeps of that immediate Downtown area at present. We're also going to be conducted searches of Downtown buildings, particularly those impacted on Second Avenue to make sure that there is no one in need of help in those.

I will say that central precinct officers conducted a door-to-door, apartment-to-apartment, if you will, check of units on Second Avenue this morning just before the explosion occurred and got persons to safety. There was actually a man walking his dog on Second Avenue that an officer stopped and directed in another way just before the RV exploded.

The explosion knocked one of our officers to the ground. Thankfully no officers were significantly hurt. I think one officer sustained some what we hope is temporary hearing loss, but no other officers have been injured.

Obviously, there were a number of officers on Second Avenue working this call when the explosion occurred, and they have been interviewed by our federal partners, and the investigation is progressing. I'll take just a couple of questions and, again, we'll brief again at noon.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

AARON: When the officers got to Second Avenue North on the shots fired call, this RV was parked there, and there were circumstances about the RV that caused the officers to request the bomb squad.

QUESTION: I saw an officer leaving at the intersection of Broadway at second just about 6:45 a.m. this morning with two to three what appeared to be teenagers in the back seat. Do you know about this, and was this just taking them somewhere, or was this possibly --

AARON: Well, the officers would have been looking for any witnesses, anybody who may have been around that area. Even though we have seen something in the central precinct is just a couple of blocks away, and I know that some persons were taken to the central precinct for questioning. We'll flesh that out more as the day goes on.

QUESTION: Was there may be any other type of bomb situation down here, or explosion or is it just isolated to just driving there.

[11:05:00]

AARON: So, we do not know whether anyone was inside that vehicle. There was a significant explosion. We don't know whether anyone was physically inside it. Are you asking me if there was another explosion this morning?

QUESTION: Do you believe that there may be another vehicle possible, whether may have been another explosion in here or just that one vehicle?

AARON: We're not aware of any other attempted explosion, no.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

AARON: Well, that's all part of our investigation. As you all know, there are cameras throughout the Downtown area, and as part of what we're doing now we're trying to look at footage and see exactly what the cameras might tell us.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) AARON: I don't know that. There could have been something in -- maybe some windows making breaking, shattering, I don't know of any other explosions.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

AARON: Well, there are several buildings that have experienced damage on Second Avenue North. OK?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

AARON: You are correct. You are correct. OK. So, we'll see you back here at noon.

WALKER: All right, so you were just listening to Don Aaron, Spokesperson for Metro Nashville Police, briefing the media updating the media again on this massive explosion that took place in Downtown Nashville.

You see those really incredible pictures there. It happened after 6:30 a.m. this morning and they are calling this an intentional act and also a significant explosion.

Let's bring in CNN Correspondent Shimon Prokupecz who has been following this breaking news story all morning long.

Shimon, first off, can you start off with a timeline because I found it interesting that Don was mentioning there that as the bomb squad was responding to the scene, that is when this RV exploded.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right and what's even more interesting at this point is what brought police to this area in Downtown Nashville. They say they got a call for shots fired. There was a call that came through 911 reporting that gunshots were fired and so that is the why police were responding there just about 6:00 a.m. Central Time there in Nashville, and it's when police arrived there.

They don't see any evidence that shots were fired. They don't hear that shots were fired, but they stumble upon they come upon this RV and what police say is they noticed that there was something suspicious. Police will not say what they noticed. But they said that the police noticed that there was something suspicious and that is when they called the bomb squad to respond.

And as the bomb squad was responding that is when the RV explodes. What's also really significant here and we're hearing some heroic stories here from the police are that they were able to evacuate people from the area.

As the bomb squad was responding they were able to go to some of the residential buildings there and evacuate people. And that is why luckily, we're only seeing three people were injured, minor injuries to those three people. A police officer was thrown back from the force of the explosion. That officer has some temporary hearing loss, they believe, but really when you look at these pictures and the size of this explosion and the destruction that we're seeing in the debris field here it's really -- the size of this explosion is certainly going to be something very significant for investigators to look at but also the fact that we don't have more people injured is really remarkable.

And luckily police there were able to move people to safety. There are a lot of questions about this RV. The police are not able to answer a lot of the questions. We have the FBI going there, the police and the FBI is on their way, the ATF is on scene so everyone there is going to be working together and we should hear from them in about an hour or so.

But obviously the big question is who put this RV there. They're saying they don't know if anyone was inside the RV because of the explosion. They have not been able to determine if anyone was inside the RV, but the key thing here now I think is the fact that, you know, it could be perhaps that the police were drawn there.

Whoever made this phone call for shots fired doesn't appear that there was any kind of gunshots that were fired is going to be something significant, any significant piece of information for law enforcement.

WALKER: Yes, you're right. That's a big question, right? I mean, why this RV exploded as the bomb squad was responding to the scene. And you mentioned Shimon that scale of damage, as we're taking look at that, I mean, there was a massive fire after several cars in that area, and also were also on fire as a result of the explosion.

You can see the debris tune everywhere, there were downed trees on that street and a lot of people nearby who not only felt the blast, but many windows were broken as well.

[11:10:02]

Let bring in CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell who was also Former FBI Special Agent. First off, Josh, we know right now in the Downtown Nashville area, the scene is not yet secure, correct?

WALKER: And that's because they are still going business to business, door to door number one to check on if there is anyone still unaccounted for and, number two, there is still a possibility there may be a second device.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, and we're talking about may be three or four reasons simultaneously why officers are holding that scene the first as you mentioned they want to make sure that there is no one injured in and around those buildings.

But secondly, I mean, this is now obviously an active crime scene I could tell you in bomb investigation sometimes the key pieces of evidence could be so small, so tiny that then allow them to move an investigation forward and so with a blast, you know, happening in the middle of a street with buildings on either side, obviously the blast kind of projects as a funnel down that street. And so, you can have evidence far away from the actual scene of that incident. Secondly or thirdly I should say as you mentioned perhaps there are other secondary devices. They just want to ensure that that's the case and then, third, I mean, now all these buildings are now potentially structurally unsound as well and so they don't want people, you know, bystanders coming in and around that area because now they are talking about additional potential dangers.

I will say though as that happens this investigation that's happening there on the ground, what we're not seeing is this fanning out by all of these agencies that are now working together to try to bring their resources to bear.

One key piece of information, I think the key driver right now is something that we just learned and that's this idea that this was a call for shots fire and then an explosion happened after that. Now as these things happen, we've to point out there is still a lot that we don't know. But I think that's a key piece of information because in FBI you know counterterrorism training the first thing, they will tell you are when you're trying to reconstruct what happened.

You have asked who the victims were. Is this someone who was attempting to cause just indiscriminate mass loss of life? It does not appear to be that case. You wouldn't do that on Christmas morning in an area that isn't highly populated.

So to now get that new piece of information that there was an emergency call for shots fired that would naturally draw police down to this area probably in large numbers as we know we live in an era of active shooters and any type of shots are going to be drawing in law enforcement and to see that happen after that.

Again, that is the key piece of information now. I will say one other thing, Amara, and that is that as I look at this investigation and I compare to others that I've both covered and that I've worked, I am confident that law enforcement will in short order identity the person that did this.

And the reason I say that is because we're talking about an explosive that's attached to a vehicle, an RV. This isn't a device that was left in a bag or some other remote area. Vehicles like a recreational vehicle naturally have unique identification numbers.

They have license plates and so as we've seen in past incidents investigators can track that back to its origin in order to try to identify the owner and then another thing that's also important is that we're not talking about, you know if you and I were sitting in Nashville and we saw a Toyota Camry parked somewhere that would not raise your attention.

WALKER: Right.

CAMPBELL: But obviously seeing large vehicle like an RV could potentially, you know, someone could remember seeing that part what the person looks like all those key pieces of information now law enforcement is trying to collect and gather in order to try to identify the person or persons responsible.

WALKER: Yes, good point there Josh. And I did find interesting that Andrew McCabe, just a few minutes ago he was on CNN, the Former FBI Director was talking about using an RV may have been a genius move because you could actually build the explosive device inside that RV and then deliver it to exactly where you want it to go.

Josh Campbell and Shimon Prokupecz thank you. Stay with us. We're continuing to follow though this breaking news in Downtown Nashville. That area has been sealed off as it is an active crime scene. There was a massive explosion that police believe was extensional. It's currently being investigated right now. We'll have more details when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:18:40]

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Amara Walker. We're following breaking news out of Nashville, Tennessee. Police have shut down and sealed off parts of Downtown Nashville after a major explosion rocked several blocks of the city. You can just see the scale of damage right there on your screen.

Authorities are calling this vehicle explosion an intentional act that came as police were responding to reports of a suspicious vehicle. Let's bring in Former Lead Bomb Tech for the FBI in New York City and CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Peter Licata.

Peter, I just want to get your take, when you look at just how significant the damage is and Shimon Prokupecz was reporting that some people as far as nine blocks away felt this explosion, what are your thoughts on what happened? What kind of explosive device may have been used?

PETER LICATA, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning and Merry Christmas to you. Based on the videos that I've been able to see so far about that crime scene obviously it was a significant explosion. Clearly not an accident, this was intentional. Not sure who the target is just as of yet.

Obviously, law enforcement will be working through that, but it's a significant explosion. As far as the type of explosives being used, you can't really tell that just right now.

[11:20:01]

We'd be doing law enforcement a disservice by stating that. But there are means that law enforcement has that will gavel to determine what type of explosive is in fact being used. Whether it was actually commercial or military type explosives or if it was home-made or improvised mixture type explosives. But those are the things that crime scene responders will be dealing with, taking swabs at the crime scene sending those back to most likely the FBI lab in Quantico in order to try to determine the chemistry and explosive make up of this device. WALKER: Sure, and I respect that assessment. But Peter, let me ask you about the timing and what your thoughts are on this. Because it's Christmas morning or Christmas day which means that most businesses Downtown in Nashville if not all are closed, obviously not many pedestrians on the streets as well and we know that Nashville Mayor just said that the explosion was clearly done when no one was going to be around.

Are you getting the sense that this was a way to target law enforcement especially when you look at the timing of the bomb squad being called in and as they're responding that is when this RV exploded after 6:30 a.m. this morning?

LICATA: That's a good take on whom the target may have been thus far. Again, very deliberate crime scene and very deliberate investigation in order to get it right. But these are the -- these in my experience over 20 years in the FBI and almost 18 years as special agent bomb tech working crime scenes just like this in the United States and overseas, these are the assessments that we are making or those investigators now in Nashville are working as they work this crime scene.

Who was the target? Who was the victim? Was it just an event to happen on Christmas day? Was it an event at a specific building or individual live in that building or was it something we refer to as a come-on type device which is let's call law enforcement in on a -- call draw them into this device and then function a device be a time via remote or command activated or has done something in way that sets up the device to be functioned by the victim or in this case potentially law enforcement officers responding.

WALKER: Yes, just give our viewers a lay of the land because it's obviously hard to see what were exactly looking at right now? Nashville police earlier this morning tweeted out that this location is 166 Second Avenue. The Mayor saying that this area is the edge of the city's hospitality and tourists' districts in old historic part of town.

I was on Google Map just taking a look at what is in that area. A lot of restaurant performing art center, the river right adjacent to hotels and not that far from the State Capitol. This RV that was apparently used where the explosion took place Peter, what do you make of that?

I found it interesting that Andrew McCabe earlier was mentioning that this could have been an ingenious move by the perpetrator because you can build an explosive device inside the RV go unnoticed and then deliver it where we want to.

LICATA: Absolutely, that's the intend of a bomber so if they used that RV to build a device and that's pretty ingenious as opposed to building it in an apartment or a house or garage or shelter outside, somewhere less secure. And then you have to remember the vehicle itself has amended to move the device to the crime scene and usually that in this case the vehicle should be something that blends into the city escape. So, an RV Downtown Nashville, any entertainment district -- you know so that would kind of fit in. It really doesn't stand out necessarily being parked on a street during Christmas time so again these are the things that law enforcement and the bomb squad are, and the crime scene investigators are working to assess as why that RV? How did it get there? Where did it come from? And they're going to be using CCTV any surveillance TV at highways rest stop streets, local businesses ATMS and then they're going to be looking at the vehicle directly with regard to -- if there's a license plate number, a vehicle identification number that's labeled throughout the vehicle from the bumper, from the front to the back and that's what's going to help them figure out why that vehicle got there? Why it was used and who actually brought it there?

WALKER: Yes, a lot of questions to be answered and you can see first responders there on the roof of that building potentially checking out the integrity of these structures. Peter Licata, we appreciate you joining us.

And if you are just joining us, you're taking a look at aerial pictures of the aftermath of a massive explosion. This is in Downtown Nashville. This happened this morning, this Christmas morning just after 6:30 a.m.

[11:25:00]

What we understand from the Nashville Police Spokesperson who just briefed the media a few minutes ago.

Police were called because 911 shots were fired in the area. Police started to respond. They saw something suspicious and then the bomb squad was called in. And as the bomb squad was responding to this RV that was parked there on the street near Second Avenue the RV exploded.

And as we know Christmas morning or Christmas day most businesses if not all are closed and the streets are usually pretty empty, so lot of questions as to who intended target was? What the motive was? Was this a way to draw in police?

All these questions still outstanding, and this is going to be a day's long investigation as we just heard from local law enforcement. We're going to stay on top of this story. We're going to take a break. Up next, hospitals that are already on the bring try to braise for yet another post-holiday COVID surge. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)