MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th December, 2020) Investigators have confirmed that the remains found at the site of the Nashville, Tennessee downtown bombing that occurred on Christmas are those of the 63-year-old suspect, KTVZ tv reports.
"We've come to the conclusion that an individual named Anthony Warner is the bomber. He was present when the bomb went off and then he perished," US Attorney for the District Court for the middle District of Tennessee Donald Cochran said during a Sunday evening news conference, as quoted by KTVZ TV.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said at the news conference that DNA taken from the scene was matched to Warner by forensic analysts.
Earlier on Sunday, Nashville Police Chief John Drake confirmed that the "person of interest" in the bombing investigation was Anthony Q. Warner, 63. An FBI spokesman confirmed that it was Warner's home in Antioch that was searched by FBI agents on Saturday, after the same camper van as the one detonated in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day was spotted at the property.
FBI Special Agent Jason Pack told The Tennessean newspaper that agents have also visited Fridrich & Clark Realty's Green Hills office on the same day and the company's owner said Warner had previously worked for them, and also did computer work for other companies.
Meanwhile, Nashville police told reporters on Sunday morning that a recording was played from the vehicle warning of a blast, as well as the 1964 song "Downtown" by Petula Clark.
A box truck was stopped east of Nashville on Sunday after a song "similar" to the one played prior to the explosion was heard playing from it.
"Sheriff's deputies in Rutherford and Wilson Counties are investigating a box truck parked at a store playing audio similar to the Christmas explosion in Nashville. The driver was stopped by deputies and detained," Rutherford County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter on Sunday.
It added later that the driver of the truck had been charged with felony.
"Because of those actions, driver James Turgeon, 33, of Holly Grove Road near Murfreesboro was charged with two counts of felony filing a false report and one count of tampering with evidence Sunday night," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook.
Turgeon, who intentionally damaged the speaker system wiring to get rid of the evidence, is being held on a $500,000 bond at the detention center. A court hearing is set for June 7.
Three people suffered injuries as a result of the Nashville explosion, which investigators have said was "intentional." Over 40 buildings were damaged in the city's downtown area, including an AT&T central office. AT&T communication systems across Tennessee, as well as in Kentucky and Alabama were affected.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper said in an interview with "Face the Nation" on Sunday that there "has to be some connection to the AT&T facility and the site of the bombing," as the camping van that exploded was parked adjacent to the AT&T building.
CNN quoted FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski as saying on Saturday, in response to a question about whether the AT&T building was a target of the bombing, that police "are looking at every possible motive."
Cooper signed an executive order on Friday declaring a state of civil emergency and enforced a curfew in the downtown area until Sunday.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee on Saturday published a letter asking US President Donald Trump to declare an emergency and provide Federal assistance to 41 businesses that suffered damages in the blast.
