Just hours after confirming that 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner was under investigation for an explosion that rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed that Warner died in that explosion.
BREAKING: Law enforcement is now announcing that Anthony Warner, 63, of Bakertown Rd, is the man believed responsible for Friday's explosion. He perished in the blast. No one else is presently believed to have been involved. Thank you to our federal & state partners. pic.twitter.com/PwMa1MwHvd
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) December 27, 2020
Earlier Sunday, MNPD’s Public Affairs Manager Don Aaron told The Tennessee Star that Warner was “under investigation,” but did not say whether he was officially a suspect or a person of interest.
Rumors of Warner’s involvement in the bombing, which injured three in the early morning hours Friday, Christmas day, swirled beginning Saturday afternoon when federal and local authorities searched his home in Antioch, Tennessee.
Shortly thereafter, it was reported that Warner had gifted his property to a Los Angeles woman, Michelle Swing, in November. It was the second property that Warner had given to Swing, who said she did not know that Warner’s property was in her possession. She declined to comment on the specifics of her relationship with Warner.
The bombing, which occurred on Second Avenue in Nashville, did significant damage to a building owned by AT&T. The attack caused major service outages in Tennessee, and even caused Friday afternoon flights at Nashville International Airport to be grounded.
Warner worked in the IT industry, and Nashville Mayor John Cooper described the bombing as an “infrastructure attack.”
“Well, those of us in Nashville realize that on Second Avenue there is a big AT&T facility and the truck was parked adjacent to this large, historic AT&T facility, which happens to be in downtown Nashville, somewhat surprisingly,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning.
“And to all of us locally, it feels like there has to be some connection with the AT&T facility and the site of the bombing,” Cooper continued. “You know, and that – that’s just – that’s a bit of just local insight because it’s got to have something to do with the infrastructure.”
An official motive for the attack has not been revealed.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
