NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – It was like a friendly conversation between neighbors. It was only after a bomb exploded in central Nashville on Christmas morning that Rick Laude was able to capture the cheerful sense behind his neighbour’s smiling statement that the city and the rest of the world will never forget. world e.
Laude told The Associated Press Monday that he was speechless when he found out that authorities had identified his 63-year-old neighbor, Anthony Quinn Warner, as the suspect in detonating a bomb that killed himself, injured three others and damaged dozens of buildings.
Laude said he saw Warner standing at his mailbox less than a week before Christmas and pulled into his car to speak. After wondering how Warner’s older mother was doing, Laude said he asked him, “Is Santa going to give you anything good for Christmas?”
Warner laughed and said, “Oh, yeah, Nashville and the world aren’t going to forget me,” Laude recalled.
Laude said he didn’t think much of it and thought Warner was just meaning that “something good” was going to happen to him financially.
“Nothing about this guy raised red flags,” Laude said. “It was just silent.”
Warner has left hints that he was planning and planned to kill himself in the bombing, but there is still a clear reason for not being able to find it.
“We hope to have an answer. At times, it ‘s not possible, “David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said Monday in an interview on NBC’ s” Today “show.” Talking to the individual is the best way to find a reason. we can do that in this case. “
Investigators are analyzing Warner-owned properties collected during the survey, including a computer and a portable storage driver, and continue to conduct interviews with witnesses as they try to identify a possible cause for the explosion, a law enforcement officer said. A review of its financial affairs also found the purchase of potential bomb-making parts, the official said.
Warner had recently handed over a vehicle and told the person who gave it to him that he had been diagnosed with cancer, although it is not clear if he actually had cancer, the official said. Investigators used some items collected from the vehicle, including a hat and gloves, to match Warner’s DNA, and DNA was also taken from one of his family members, the spokesman said. officer.
The officer was unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on an anonymous condition.
Warner apparently gave away his home in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville, to a Los Angeles woman a month before the bombing. Register of properties dated Nov. 25 indicates that Warner moved the home to the woman in exchange for any money after living there for decades. That document does not have the woman’s signature.
Warner had been working as a computer consultant for Nashville realtor Steve Fridrich, who told the AP in a text message that Warner had said he was retiring earlier this month.
Officials said Warner had not been on their radar before Christmas. A law enforcement report released Monday revealed Warner ‘s only arrest for a marijuana – related charge in 1978.
“It seems that the mission was more destructive than death, but again that is still profiting at this stage as we continue the investigation with all of our partners,” Rausch said.
In addition, officials have not provided insight into why Warner chose the specific location for the bombing, which damaged the AT&T building and damaged cell phone service and police and hospital communications there. the several Southern states. Prior to Monday, the company said most services had been refurbished for residents and businesses.
Forensic analysts were reviewing evidence gathered from the explosive site to try to identify parts of the explosives as well as information from the U.S. Bomb Data Center for intelligence and investigative instructions, according to a law enforcement official who said investigators examined Warner ‘s digital discovery and financial history, as well as a recent action move of a Nashville suburban home they investigated.
The officer, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said federal representatives were investigating a number of possible guidelines and following a number of theories, introducing the potential for the AT&T building to be targeted.
Korneski said Sunday that officials were looking for any and all reasons and were interviewing Warner experts to try to find out what prompted him.
The bombing happened on a long holiday morning before the city center streets were busy with activity and was accompanied by a recorded message warning anyone nearby that a bomb would soon explode. Then, for reasons we never know, the audio turned to a recording of Petula Clark in 1964 hitting “Downtown” shortly before the explosion.
Officials said their identification of Warner relied on several key pieces of evidence, including DNA found at the site of the explosion. Investigators had previously discovered that human remains had been found nearby.
In addition, investigators from the Tennessee Highway Patrol found parts of the RV among the wreckage from the explosion, and were able to link the vehicle’s identification number to a Warner-registered RV, officials said.
“We’re still following instructions, but right now there’s no indication that anyone else was involved,” Korneski said. “We reviewed hours of security video around the recreational vehicle. We didn’t see anyone else involved. “
Police were responding to a report of a bullet fired Friday when they encountered the RV giving a recorded warning that a bomb would explode in 15 minutes. Suddenly the warning stopped, and “Downtown” began to play.
The RV exploded shortly afterwards, sending black smoke and flames out of the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area full of honest tons, restaurants and shops.
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Balsamo reported from Washington, and Lavoie from Richmond, Virginia. Associated journalists Scott Stroud and Mark Humphrey in Nashville, Michael Kunzelman in Parkland, Maryland, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
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