Nashville Bombing May Have Targeted AT&T Building, Mayor Says -- Update
December 27 2020 - 4:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Ian Lovett and Cameron McWhirter
The person who set off a bomb in a recreational vehicle in
downtown Nashville early Christmas morning was likely motivated by
a desire to damage a nearby AT&T switching station, the mayor
of Tennessee's biggest city said Sunday.
Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation," Nashville Mayor John Cooper
said, "To all of us locally, it feels like there has to be some
connection with the AT&T facility and the site of the
bombing."
Intelligence officials have considered whether the AT&T
building was targeted in the bombing, according to a person briefed
on the investigation.
Federal and local investigators have identified a 63-year-old
local man, Anthony Quinn Warner, as a person of interest in the
case, law-enforcement officials said Saturday. There was previously
an RV in the yard of a home he owned, according to a photo on
Google Maps taken in 2019.
Authorities are analyzing body tissue found near the scene of
the bombing to determine whether it belongs to someone who died
setting off the blast.
Steve Schmoldt, who lived next door to Mr. Warner since 1995,
said that for years, an RV that resembled the one authorities have
released photos of in connection with the bombing was parked
outside Mr. Warner's yard. About a month ago, Mr. Warner pulled the
RV inside a fenced area of his yard.
The RV is now gone from the property, Mr. Schmoldt said, and
federal agents showed up at the house Friday.
Mr. Warner worked at home and described himself as a "computer
geek," according to his neighbor. "He mostly kept to himself," Mr.
Schmoldt said. "I never saw anybody go to his house."
Friday's explosion next to the AT&T switching station
knocked out cellular service in much of Tennessee, Kentucky and
Northern Alabama. The telecom company said Sunday morning that 65%
of mobility sites affected by the explosion had been restored and
portable cell sites were being used to help provide coverage in
other areas. Workers pumped more than 3 feet of water out of the
damaged building's basement, and 24 trailers with disaster recovery
equipment are en route as the company works to restore internet and
landline phone service.
The bombing, which came after a sound system in the RV made
announcements about a bomb inside, injured at least three people
and damaged at least 41 buildings, one of which was destroyed,
according to authorities.
The center of Nashville's tourist zone is a few blocks away from
the explosion, along Lower Broadway, which is lined with honky
tonks and other music venues, cowboy boot stores, restaurants and a
museum dedicated to country music legend Johnny Cash.
More than 16 million people visited the city last year, 6% more
than in 2018, according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors
Corp. Visitors in 2019 directly spent about $7.5 billion in
Nashville, according to the business association.
This year, spending on tourism in Nashville is down about $4
billion, said Butch Spyridon, chief executive of the Nashville
Convention & Visitors Corp.
The organization was planning to air a television commercial at
the end of the month to lure tourists to the city, but now staff
are debating whether to pull the ad, according to Mr. Spyridon.
They have suspended all other advertising. Prospects for the city's
tourist business had been hopeful with vaccines being distributed,
but "this puts a wrench in the plans," he said.
Several times this year, Mr. Spyridon had thought Nashville
tourism was about to start recovering.
"But every time another blow is landed," he said. "We will work
our way out of this, but it just got harder and it just got
longer."
William Fox, an economist and director of the University of
Tennessee's Boyd Center for Business & Economic Research, said
Saturday that Tennessee's overall economy has weathered the
pandemic well but Nashville has struggled because of its dependence
on tourism.
Asked about the explosion's impact on the city's economy, Mr.
Fox said, "It won't really have a big impact. People will realize
pretty quickly that it's an isolated event."
Rachael Levy contributed to this article.
Write to Ian Lovett at ian.lovett@wsj.com and Cameron McWhirter
at cameron.mcwhirter@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 27, 2020 15:48 ET (20:48 GMT)
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