Car Explodes At Christmas In Nashville USA, Suspected Of Bombing

JAKARTA - A recreational car (RV) parked on the street in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States, exploded in the early hours of Friday, December 25, leaving three people injured.

Local police said the explosion was an intentional attack and it is possible that a bomb planted in the vehicle was the cause of the explosion.

The reason is, just before the car exploded, a female voice recording from the vehicle's computer system warned of a bomb in the RV.

The voice recording, quoted from Antara, Saturday December 26th, broadcast by a local television channel, said, "(Residents in) this area must be evacuated now. This area must be evacuated now. If you can hear this message, go quickly. If you can can hear this message, hurry up and go ".

Three people were lightly injured in the explosion, but police are still unable to confirm whether there are any casualties or that anyone is in the vehicle.

Several hours after the investigation, the police announced that they had found organic material that was thought to be part of a human body near the scene of the explosion.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper enforces a curfew around the crime scene during the holiday weekend, while US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators comb the scene for more evidence.

Police have so far said they have not found any other threats in Nashville, Tennessee's most populous city.

The car exploded not long after police on duty responded to reports of gunfire in the area. When arriving at the scene, police found an RV parked outside the AT&T building in Nashville at 06.00 local time.

Police heard a voice recording warning, "The bomb will explode in 15 minutes," Nashville City Police Chief John Drake told reporters.

The police immediately went to houses around the building and asked residents to immediately move to a safe place. The police also deployed a bomb disposal team. However, the bomb exploded while the squad was still on the way to the scene, said local police spokesman Don Aaron.

The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department posted a photo of the RV's car on its Twitter account and reported that the vehicle arrived at the scene at 1:22 a.m.

Betsy Williams, a resident who became an eye witness, when interviewed by CNN said she was awakened by the sound of gunfire and saw an RV parked on the street.

The car, Betsy said, played a female voice recording from the vehicle's computer system. He said the voice recording contained a warning that the car was storing the bomb and that the voice began to count the minutes before the bomb exploded.

"Everything was shaking, the explosion was quite strong," said Williams when interviewed CNN.

The explosion destroyed several vehicles parked around the site, damaged windows and several buildings, and caused black smoke to rise up visible from a distance.

The mayor of Nashville said 41 shops / offices were damaged in the explosion. Firefighters said three people with minor injuries had been taken to several hospitals. Their condition is currently stable, said the fire department.

Local authorities say the swift action of police evacuating residents before the explosion may have been one of the factors preventing many of the casualties.

"Quite clearly, they heard the warning from this vehicle," said Aaron. "They took the warning seriously and closed the road to protect the residents and we think it was effective," said the mayor.

Aaron called the explosion an intentional attack. It is believed that the closure of shops and offices during Christmas and the ban on mass gatherings due to COVID-19 are believed to have helped prevent more victims.

Nashville police chief Drake previously said there were no fatalities. However, he later said investigators were still examining "tissue suspected of being part of a human body", which was found near the blast site.

Police said they could not confirm if anyone was in the car when the vehicle exploded.