Human remains found at the site of a Christmas Day explosion in downtown Nashville have been identified as Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, of Antioch, Tennessee, authorities said Sunday afternoon.
The FBI identified the remains from a DNA examination of tissue samples by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI laboratory at Quantico, Virginia, according to a news release from Nashville police.
“A key break in the investigation occurred when the Tennessee Highway Patrol was able to locate and recover the VIN number from the suspect’s van,” a Nashville police spokesman said in the release. “That information along with crucial tips from the public led to the home of the suspect in Antioch.”
Authorities had identified Warner as a person of interest in the blast and began searching his Antioch residence Saturday.
Nashville police said a motive is unclear, adding, “… there is no indication that any other individuals are involved.”
Early Christmas morning, officers noticed a suspicious RV parked at 166 Second Ave. North. As the bomb squad was on its way, the vehicle exploded, causing massive damage in the area. Prior to the blast, reports of a woman’s voice, apparently in a recording, warned of the impending explosion, the Tennessean newspaper reported.
Local internet, cell service affected by explosion
Among the buildings damaged in the explosion was the AT&T building on Second Avenue, causing service disruptions across parts of Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky — including cellular and internet service in Hopkinsville. It also knocked out local 911 service.
As of Sunday evening, 96% of cellular customers had been restored, as well as 60% of business customers and 86% of consumer broadband and entertainment services, according to a statement from AT&T CEO Jeff McElfresh. He added it was the company’s goal to restore all service late Sunday.
“The AT&T building on 2nd Avenue suffered significant damage in the blast. That facility includes connection points for regional internet services as well as local wireless, internet and video,” McElfresh said in the statement posted Sunday afternoon to the company’s website. “In the hours that followed the explosion, our local service remained intact through temporary battery power. Unfortunately, a combination of the explosion and resulting water and fire damage took out a number of backup power generators intended to provide power to the batteries. That led to service disruptions across parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. More than 48 hours later, some customers are still experiencing outages.
“What has made network restoration so difficult is doing it while maintaining the integrity of an active crime scene in cooperation with federal and local law enforcement. Hundreds of employees — our own AT&T employees as well as first responders — have stepped in over the last two days to restore service. We’ve restored power to multiple floors in the building and deployed over 25 temporary satellite cell towers and 24 additional trailers of disaster recovery equipment across the impacted area.”
The statement also noted that the company would waive wireless data overages in the impacted area and that affected customers would be eligible for service charge credits.
An earlier update from AT&T noted the challenges to working in a “disaster area,” including a fire that reignited Friday night, prompting delays.
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(Jennifer P. Brown is the editor and founder of Hoptown Chronicle. Reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Julia Hunter is the engagement editor for Hoptown Chronicle. Reach her at julia@hoptownchronicle.org.)
