| USA TODAY
Nashville bomb attack captured on police camera
The Nashville Metro Department of Police released footage of the moment the Christmas Day bombing shook the city.
Associated Press, USA TODAY
The claim: Photos and videos claim the Nashville blast source was not the RV
Around 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 25, a violent explosion ripped through Nashville’s Second Avenue. The source of the blast was an RV that had been standing on the street all night, sending out a warning message shortly before it exploded, according to the USA TODAY.
In the aftermath of the incident, some individuals went to Facebook to claim that the vehicle was not actually the explosion.
Sergio RodriQuez posted a series of images from the blast site, including a video describing the blast ‘Source’ across the street as the RV.
The video – which is of low quality and apparently footage from another device’s screen – slowly switches between two still photos.
The first silent shot is before the explosion. To the left is a circle around the RV marked “RV.” To the right is a circle around the sidewalk entitled “Source”.
The second fatal shot is after the explosion. Most of the picture is flame red, including the circle named “RV”. In contrast, the circle named “Source” is bright white.
“I do not know the role of the #RW,” he wrote. “I know this is clearly not the source.”
Other users – like Gary LeVox and Jack Watts – took the same photos.
“The RV is in the left circle. The circle on the right is the IMPACT SITE!” LeVox wrote.
“In the second photo, you can clearly see that the origin of the explosion came from somewhere else, not where the RV was standing,” Watts wrote. “The RV was nothing more than a decoy.”
RodriQuez, LeVox and Watts have not yet responded to requests for comment from the United States.
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Combining images creates a changed depiction of events
The combination of the still photos in a video, or the juxtaposition of the photos side by side, creates a changed depiction of what really happened.
On December 27, the Metro Nashville Police Department released the full footage of the explosion and its aftermath, published by The Tennessean.
The 42-second video shows the explosion from the RV on the left side of the street, before debris exploded on the right. Smoke flows from the left.
Both before and after the explosion, a white car was parked on the right side of the street. If the explosion had occurred on the right side, the car would probably have been destroyed.
Reporters from Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 first downplayed the edited images, claiming the RV was not the source of the bomb.
In fact, investigators said the alleged offender, Anthony Warner, filled his RV with explosives and detonated inside. His body was burned in the blast.
Phil Williams, the station’s chief investigator, began Twitter to condemn explosion-related conspiracy theories and explain the true sequence of events.
“The FALSE conspiracy theory about a Nashville rocket attack is based on altered images. The RV is on the left. The initial fireball is on the left. Fiery debris (not a missile) is raining on the right. (Basic physics.) Finally is the RV away, ”he wrote.
It is possible that the second photo that was still shot in the reports on Facebook came halfway through the explosion to make it appear as if the source was not the RV. But the full footage discredits the depiction.
Several officials, including the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, David Rausch, announced that Warner had acted alone in the attack. His motive is still a mystery, according to the US TODAY.
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Our rating: change
Based on our research, the video was changed claiming that the explosion in Nashville was not the RV. The still photos that the video contains were selected from the footage of the explosion and posted to make it look like the explosion was on the right. Full footage, released by police, shows the explosion from the RV on the left side of the street before debris burst on the right.
Our sources for fact checking:
- USA TODAY, December 25, ‘Evacuate now. There’s a bomb ‘: Human remains were apparently found near an explosion in Nashville that damaged 41 buildings and injured 3
- The Tennessean, December 27, New Nashville bombing video released by police shows a clear picture of the blast
- NewsChannel 5, December 28, False conspiracy theory over a Nashville rocket attack based on altered images
- Phil Williams, December 28, Tweet
- USA TODAY, December 28, A tip, a hat and a pair of gloves led to the ID of Nashville bomber Anthony Quinn Warner; motive remains a mystery
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