Nashville explosion

[Rene T]

This morning there was a huge explosion and reports are saying it was from a parked RV. One building was heavily damaged and on fire and several cars in the area were on fire. That?s all I know now.

Police are now saying it may have been intentional. 3 people were rushed to hospitals but not life threatening.

 

[Tom]

Sounds like a terrorist attack. News conference at 1:00pm ET.

 

[Molaker]

Someone was naughty and not nice.

 

[Goodspike]

Looks like a pretty decent size explosion, but I don't really know what an explosion from a motorhome sized propane tank would be.  In Seattle with its attract the homeless programs RV fires have become pretty common, but I don't recall explosive damages as opposed to fire damages.

I wonder what made the vehicle suspicious? 

Seattle RV fires:  https://news.google.com/search?q=seattle%20rV%20fire&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

 

[Rene T]

Looks like a pretty decent size explosion, but I don't really know what an explosion from a motorhome sized propane tank would be.  In Seattle with its attract the homeless programs RV fires have become pretty common, but I don't recall explosive damages as opposed to fire damages.

I wonder what made the vehicle suspicious? 

Seattle RV fires:  https://news.google.com/search?q=seattle%20rV%20fire&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

People miles away felt the explosion so that?s a little more than one propane tank. There was initially a 911 call for shots fired. When the police got there, there was a recording of some type saying that a explosion was going to happen in 15 minutes.

 

[PancakeBill]

Police apparently noticed it sagging the springs, and then a recording from the vehicle stating it would blow in 15 minutes,  Propane may have been a secondary, soubnnds more like it was some sort of explosive, not just a propane. unless it was loaded with propane.

 

[Bugford]

Anyone recognize the brand?

 

[John From Detroit]

The Blaring warning does indicate it was intentional
but it also argues AGAINST terrorist attack, (terrorists do not normally warn of the explosion)

Will be interesting to follow this one.

 

[Goodspike]

Police apparently noticed it sagging the springs, and then a recording from the vehicle stating it would blow in 15 minutes,  Propane may have been a secondary, soubnnds more like it was some sort of explosive, not just a propane. unless it was loaded with propane.

That wasn't in my newsfeed at the point in time I posted.  Still that doesn't rule out propane, but perhaps much more than what an RV would normally carry given this was obviously intentional and not an accident. 

 

[Goodspike]

The Blaring warning does indicate it was intentional
but it also argues AGAINST terrorist attack, (terrorists do not normally warn of the explosion)

Depends on your definition of terrorist.  I would call the people who destroyed downtown Seattle as terrorists even though they didn't purposefully claim too many lives.

But yeah the seemingly didn't have the goal of taking lives.

 

[TheBar]

It was parked outside of the AT&T transmission building and damage to telecommunications caused the airport to be shut down. It could have been someone with a grudge against AT&T.

 

[NY_Dutch]

A disgruntled DirecTV customer?

 

[Isaac-1]

For level of damage potential for such a size vehicle keep in mind that the Oklahoma City Federal building bomb was in a Ryder truck, google says it was on a Ford F700 Chassis, so perhaps it was a bit larger than what one can cram into an overloaded E350/E450 chassis class C which has been stripped out internally, but not much, and that bomb took a large crescent out of a substantially sized federal building.

 

[John From Detroit]

I liked the Direct TV reply.

Yes I do agree it has all the earmarks of a terrrorist attack except for the broadcast warning that greatly reduced injuries and death....  But I also agree terrorists may be trying a new form of attack.

Propane. I doubt it. I think they used something with more BOOm to it... But it matters not  if propane of some compound (perhaps #4)  because it was NOT an accident.

 

[Oldgator73]

Some have posited that this attack may not be terrorism since there was a warning before the explosion. Terrorism does necessarily have to involve surprise or death. Sometimes terrorism is used to disrupt the normal flow of things.

 

[NY_Dutch]

The warning leads me to suspect death to "civilians" was not the motive, but death to law enforcement/first responders may have been. An alternative target may have been physical damage to the AT&T building. Whether it was an act of domestic or foreign terrorism, or a protest of some sort remains to be seen.

 

[Molaker]

It may be terrorists, but of the domestic kind. My bet is on some local yahoos set on raising hell because politics have not gone their way.

 

[Doc Roads]

Police apparently noticed it sagging the springs, and then a recording from the vehicle stating it would blow in 15 minutes,  Propane may have been a secondary, soubnnds more like it was some sort of explosive, not just a propane. unless it was loaded with propane.

These are key observations for investigators.  First, law enforcement and forensics need time to investigate and assess.  Anything said prior to investigation is just speculation, not proven.  That said, sagging of the rear end or body was a key indicator for guards at checkpoints in Afghanistan when I was there.  Additionally, a warning is sometimes used, even if it?s cryptic, by Islamic terrorists, but not always.  As of this writing, no organization has claimed responsibility for the act which, if they did, could add to an understanding of the objective.  Time and investigation will tell.

 

[Goodspike]

It may be terrorists, but of the domestic kind. My bet is on some local yahoos set on raising hell because politics have not gone their way.

Or someone under 30 upset that absolutely anything has not gone their way.

 

[Photog]

We might not know till next week,  but it's possible the explosion was used to knock out alarms and allow a break-in at an other location(s).