63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner has been identified by authorities as the suspect behind the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville.
Authorities confirmed Warner’s identity during a press conference Sunday evening, and that Warner owned the recreaction vehicle that exploded in Nashville early Friday morning, and that he died in the blast.
Human remains were found at the blast site. It was announced earlier in the day that the tissue samples found in the debris from the explosion were being DNA-tested and FBI agents intended to swab Warner’s mother to determine if he was a match according.
According to the FBI, the samples were found to be consistent with Warner. Additionally, the Tennessee Highway Patrol uncovered a vehicle identification number from the debris of the RV, which confirmed it was registered to Warner. Authorities said that, while they are still following leads, and that there is "no indication" that any other people were involved.
Police added that a motive for the bombing remains unknown at this time. Officials have been speaking with anyone familiar with Warner’s ideologies and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press that federal investigators have started examining Warner's digital footprint and financial history.
"It’s just going to take us some time," Douglas Korneski, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office, said at a Saturday afternoon news conference. "Our investigative team is turning over every stone" to understand who did this and why.”
FBI agents are trying to confirm if the motive behind the bombing was tied to conspiracies about 5G technology and coronavirus. According to earlier reports, investigators asked former associates of Warner if he was paranoid about 5G technology.
According to News 4 Nashville, a local NBC affiliate, "Realtor Steve Fridrich contacted the FBI after reading Warner's name, as for several years, a man by the name of Tony Warner had worked for him for several years doing information technology work."
Fridrich confirmed that agents asked him whether or not Warner was paranoid about 5G technology but Fridrich told the FBI that Warner had never spoken to him about that.
According to News 4, Fridrich described the Tony Warner who worked for him as a kind person who they contacted only to work on internet issues. "Nice guy. You know, he was a techie guy —don't mean anything negative about that. He would do this thing and leave. He didn't bother anybody. He did his thing and leave," Fridrich said. Fridrich said Warner spoke of his fondness for camping the last time Warner helped him with an Internet issue earlier this month.
Conspiracy theories about 5G technology, including that the technology somehow helps spread or caused the coronavirus, were peddled on the internet at the beginning of the pandemic. Some people even attacked a 5G phone mast in the UK.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper on Sunday told CBS News' Face the Nation that he suspects that the AT&T transmission center was targeted in the attack. Cooper said it "…feels like there has to be some connection to the AT&T facility and the site of the bombing."
The bombing in Nashville occurred early Friday morning, when a white RV began broadcasting a warning over a loudspeaker, urging local residents to evacuate the area. According to video from surveillance cameras, the recording played for fifteen minutes before the RV exploded. The RV also blasted the song "Downtown" by Petula Clark before it detonated according to law enforcement. Three people were injured in the blast.
The blast, which caused extensive damage to dozens of buildings, forty one businesses and nearby residences in Tennessee’s largest city, happened outside of a building owned by AT&T.
The explosion affected cellular and internet service in the area as well as 911, emergency medical service communications and air traffic control. Nashville and other cities were still experiencing outages as of Sunday as were other providers such a T-Mobile.
As of Sunday afternoon, there have been no other arrests or motive revealed in the bombing. Reportedly, the FBI received at least two tips about Warner prior to the blast. The Daily Beast reported that Warner was previously arrested in January 1978 and found guilty on an unspecified felony charge in 1980.
Investigators are looking into Warner’s connection with a 29-year-old Los Angeles brunette named Michelle Swing who Warner signed the deed to his $160,000 over to for free last month, according to county property records found by The New York Post.
Swing told The Daily Mail the transfer happened "…without my knowledge." She declined to describe her relationship to Warner cited the ongoing FBI investigation.
Investigators spent Saturday searching the home or Warner where a similar-looking white RV, now known to be the one used in the bombing, appeared in the home’s driveway in Google Maps images. Neighbors told local media that the RV was parked near the Bakertown Road home in Antioch within the last two weeks.
Late Saturday night, the Daily Mail reported that property records show Warner had transferred yet another home to the mystery woman — again for no money. According to the Mail the property was on the same street as the first house and was valued at $249,000.
In addition, police emphasized that Nashville is "considered safe" and that there are "no known threats against the city". However, a curfew will be in place near the blast site while the investigation continues.
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