Law enforcement officials suspect that the man accused of detonating a bomb in downtown Nashville in the early morning hours of Christmas Day was more intent on causing destruction than fatalities, and are reportedly probing whether or not his “paranoia” over 5G technology could have contributed to the attack.
Investigators are conducting interviews and combing through evidence that could lead them to a motive in Friday morning’s explosion, which damaged dozens of buildings, injured three people and killed the suspect, Anthony Quinn Warner.
David Rausch, director of Tennessee’s Bureau of Investigation, told NBC’s “Today” show on Monday that officials might never get “a complete answer” as to why Warner, 63, detonated the explosive after announcing his alleged intention to do so over a recording that blared from his recreational vehicle.
“A lot of it will be what we can gather through interviews and ultimately what the evidence will point us toward,” Rausch said, “but we may never find out the exact reasoning behind the activities that took place.”
The top-ranking official added that the recording, which warned that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, leads investigators to believe Warner was not interested in hurting others.
“Obviously, the audio from the vehicle warning people that an explosion was imminent, the opportunity to clear the area, certainly gives you that insight that the possibility was that he had no intention of harming anyone but himself, but that obviously plays into our investigation,” he said. “It does appear that the intent was more destruction than death, but again, that’s all still speculation at this point as we continue in our investigation.”
ANTHONY QUINN WARNER: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NASHVILLE BOMBING SUSPECT
Police received a call about shots fired early Friday morning and responded to find the RV playing the audio warning, which then switched to Petula Clark’s “Downtown.” The blast went off at approximately 6:30 a.m. near a building owned by AT&T that lies one block from the company’s landmark office tower.
This undated image posted on social media by the FBI shows Anthony Quinn Warner. (Courtesy of FBI via AP)
Officials previously confirmed to the Associated Press that they were investigating the possibility that the AT&T building was targeted.
The explosion damaged the building and has wreaked havoc on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states as the company worked to restore service.
According to The New York Times, Warner had a distant link to AT&T in that his father used to work for a company that later merged with the telecommunications giant. It was not clear if this played any role in the bombing.
Meanwhile, a source told the Daily Mail early Monday that investigators are “waiting on the digital footprint that should finally provide us with some answers.”
The source, who was identified in the report as being “close to the investigation,” also said investigators have begun to suspect Warner’s motive could have been his concerns over 5G technology.
“The unofficial motive thus far is the suspect believed 5G was the root of all deaths in the region and he’d be hailed a hero,” the source reportedly said.
Local news station WKRN reported that law enforcement is “looking seriously” at the possibility that Warner’s motive involved “paranoia over 5G technology.”
Agents have not publicly confirmed any motive so far.
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“These answers won’t come quickly and will still require a lot of our team’s efforts,” FBI Special Agent Doug Korneski told reporters Sunday. “Though we may be able to answer some [of] these questions as our investigation continues, none of those answers will be enough by those affected by this event.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.