Anthony Quinn Warner was the bomber responsible for the RV explosion in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, authorities say.
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Anthony Quinn Warner Named as Nashville Bombing Person of Interest
Anthony Quinn Warner is a 63-year-old Tennessee man who is a person of interest
in the explosion of a parked RV in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas morning, according to Nashville’s police chief. An RV similar to the one used in the Nashville bombing was parked at Warner’s home address in images available on Google Maps and Google Earth, Heavy discovered.
There was a first clue pointing toward a motive; WSMV-TV’s Jeremy Finley
is reporting that “FBI agents spent the days at another location today besides searching the home of Anthony Warner, pursuing tips that
he was paranoid about 5g spying on Americans.” Since the pandemic hit, conspiracy theories have raged that 5G cell phone towers spread COVID-19; scientists have found the claims baseless,
according to BBC. In May, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
warned of the potential for attacks by 5G conspiracy theorists against cell towers and wireless providers.
The song “Downtown” by Petula Clark was playing from the RV right before the blast, authorities said. That song’s
lyrics start, “
When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown…”
Authorities told CNN the explosion was likely a suicide bombing.
Warner, who is unmarried and childless, is self-employed in the IT area, a neighbor said; state records show he once was licensed as an alarm contractor, with a specialty in burglar alarm installation. In recent years, he lost a father and brother, leaving him with few living family members. On Saturday, a
Newsweek editor said DNA swabs were being collected from Warner’s mother, “possibly to help identify human remains.” Heavy reached a neighbor of Warner’s who confirmed that the FBI and ATF were at Warner’s longtime house along Bakertown Road in Antioch, Tennessee, which is a Nashville neighborhood. Documents show Warner transferred the home to a Los Angeles woman a month before the blast, however.
No arrests have been made. It’s not clear whether Warner is dead or alive, although authorities said previously they are analyzing tissue recovered in the blast zone; they are trying to confirm whether the remains are human. Catherine Herridge, a reporter with CBS News,
shared on Twitter that authorities’ “leading theory” is that the suspect was “killed in the Nashville explosion. DNA tests on remains found at scene are being conducted to determine if they belong to suspect or someone else + Fed agents searching home person of interest.”
The bombing puzzled many as to motive because the
bomber made deliberate efforts to encourage people to evacuate the area using a recorded message of a woman telling people to leave. The recording was interspersed with music and included a countdown, authorities said. However, the
bombing also disabled a major communication network, because it occurred near a significant AT&T facility;
CNN reported that it knocked out much of the region’s wireless service and that authorities are investigating whether it was the bomber’s target. Mobile service was back up but not internet, and authorities are hoping the site will be at full capacity by December 27, authorities said in an earlier new conference that day.
1. The Neighbor Says Warner Worked in ‘Computers’ & Was Unmarried Without Children; State Records Show He Had a License to Install Alarms
2. A Quit Claim Deed Says That Anthony Quinn Warner Recently Gave His House to a Los Angeles Woman for Zero Dollars, But She Claims She Knows Nothing About It
Online records say that Anthony Warner first showed up at the property address with the RV in the 1980s and was there through 2020.
A quit claim deed available through Davidson County records shows that on November 25, 2020, Warner, for unclear reasons, gave the property in Antioch to an unmarried Los Angeles, California, woman named Michelle Swing for $0. The deed confirms that Warner was unmarried. Michelle L. Swing has ties to Tennessee and is 29 years old, according to online records. Her Facebook page is deleted.
Daily Mail reached Swing and says she claimed she knew nothing about the house, but they called her “Lisa Swing.” They later changed the name to Michelle.
She told Daily Mail: “In the state of Tennessee you can deed property to someone else without their consent or their signature or anything. I didn’t even buy the house he just deeded it over to me without my knowledge. So this all very weird to me, that’s about all I can say.” According to Daily Mail, Swing declined to say whether she had ever met Warner or had family ties to him, saying, “I’ve been told to direct everything else to FBI.”
3. Anthony Warner Has an Old Arrest History Dating to the 1970s & Had Little Close Family Left
4. The FBI Received Two Prior Tips About Warner Before the Bombing, Reports Say
According to journalist David Begnaud, a CBS News national correspondent, “At least 2 tips were called in to @FBI about Warner, prior to the explosion.” What those tips said has not yet been released.
5. Police Responded to Shots Fired Reports Before the Blast
Police initially were called to the area for a report of shots fired. Witnesses have also told Nashville news outlets that they heard gunfire. When police arrived, the chief said in a news conference, they encountered the RV playing the recorded message that warned people to evacuate.
A WKRN journalist
reported speaking to a man in the area who reported hearing what sounded like multiple gunshots. It’s not clear whether they really were gunshots, however. Authorities haven’t yet confirmed that there was actual gunfire.
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