Law enforcement officials suspect the man accused of detonating a bomb in downtown Nashville in the early hours of Christmas Day was more likely to wreak havoc than death, and allegedly investigated “paranoia” about 5G technology could have contributed to the attack.
Investigators are conducting interviews and evidence that could have led to a motive in Friday morning’s explosion that damaged dozens of buildings, injured three people and killed the suspect, Anthony Quinn Warner.
David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, told Today’s show on Monday that officials will never get a full answer as to why Warner, 63, detonated the explosive after announcing his alleged intent to do so over a recording blaring from his recreational vehicle.
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“A lot of it will be what we can gather through interviews and ultimately what the evidence will direct us to,” Rausch said, “but we will never find out the exact reasoning behind the activities that took place.”
The top official added that the survey, which warned that a bomb would explode within 15 minutes, led investigators to believe Warner was not interested in hurting others.
‘Obviously, the sound of the vehicle warning people that an explosion is imminent gives you the opportunity to clear the area, certainly giving you the insight that the possibility was that he did not intend to harm anyone other than himself “But it obviously plays into our investigation,” he said. “It appears that the intent was more destruction than death, but that’s still all that is currently being speculated as we continue our investigation.”
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Police received a call about shots fired early Friday morning and responded that the RV was playing the audible warning, which then switched to Petula Clark’s “Downtown.” The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a building owned by AT&T, one block from the company’s office tower.
This undated image posted by the FBI on social media shows Anthony Quinn Warner. (Thanks to FBI via AP)
Officials had earlier confirmed to the Associated Press that they were investigating the possibility of the AT&T building being targeted.
The blast damaged the building and wreaked havoc with telephone service and police and hospital communications in several southern states while the company worked to repair the service.
According to The New York Times, Warner had a distant link to AT&T because his father had previously worked for a company that later merged with the telecommunications giant. It was not clear if this played a role in the bombing.
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Meanwhile, a source told the Daily Mail early Monday that investigators are “waiting for the digital footprint that will eventually give us answers.”
The source, who was identified in the report as ‘close to the investigation’, also said investigators had begun to suspect that Warner’s motive could be his concern about 5G technology.
“The unofficial motive so far is that the suspect believes that 5G is the root of all deaths in the region and that he will become a hero,” the source reportedly said.
The local news station WKRN reported that law enforcement officers are ‘taking’ seriously the possibility that Warner’s motive involves ‘paranoia about 5G technology’.
Agents have so far not confirmed any motives in public.
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“These answers will not come quickly and will still require a lot of our team’s efforts,” FBI Special Agent Doug Korneski told reporters on Sunday. “Although we may be able to answer some [of] these questions, as our investigation continues, will not be one of the answers enough for those affected by this event. ‘
The Associated Press contributed to this report.