TN - RV Explosion, Nashville, 25 Dec 2020

[Luna20]

But why have it go off at 6:30am on Christmas morning? If they wanted to blow people up they would have picked a busy time.

A statement suicide, hitting a specific area building for some reason but wanting to minimize the chance of wounding or killing anyone, test/practice of some sort, and an elaborate distraction or coverup come to mind as possibilities.

I think the time hints at it being targeted. Perp knew a subjects schedule or whereabouts. Taking down communication intimates control.

 

[Blacksheep13]

There was a short period of time where there was concern this could have been a dirty bomb. Plausibly a dry run for an upcoming one. Still. Very very bizarre that there was a warning.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this could be a false flag operation as well.

 

[whitelilac]

Mr Malloy's interview....a little more said than the shorter version earlier.
‘My Christmas Miracle’: Man walking dog survives downtown Nashville explosion | WKRN News 2

 

[cujenn81]

Are there any fringe domestic groups that are anti-technology that may use violence? My gut feeling is that this was an attempt to destroy technology, not life. However, the recorded warning sounded as if it was computerized...so maybe I’m contradicting myself a little bit. Yet, maybe this group is more anti-Big Tech, than anti-technology in general. MOO

There are some loons out there that believe 5G technology caused the coronavirus. I wouldn’t put anything past some of these wackadoo conspiracy theorists.

The truth about 5G conspiracy theories on the internet

 

[Inobu]

<modsnip>
Almost positive is is a '98 Fourwinds Chateau. Compare the two pictures...especially the placement of the words over the cab and the oval shaped piece on the hood.

This is a good lead to the vehicle identification.

The next lead is the Black mirrors. It looks like most mirrors are white. Also the added Light in the center roof line.
There has to be an RV maintenance shop that knows this RV.

 

[margarita25]

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I don't know about this one y'all. Some quick thoughts.

No known claim of responsibility suggests maybe lone wolf or non-political motives?
Also seen reports of no increased chatter detected among extremists, which isn't dispositive, but interesting. May not rule out a test run, and/or copycats later though.

Not sure about AT&T connection. A disgruntled former employee who is disgruntled enough to do this I'd expect to have more animosity towards his coworkers. It's not impossible, but it feels off to me for some reason. Someone who would be this disgruntled about AT&T but not specific individuals who work there would suggest someone whose grievances were more abstract - maybe someone whose service had been cut off, or who had sued the company for some reason, or even someone freaked out over 5G or something.

Could be there's potentially something there with cutting off phone communication and Christmas morning, combined with this pandemic and lockdown, etc. Like if I can't see/talk to my family, you can't either.

Or the AT&T thing can just be coincidental. This attack drew a lot of attention: the timer, the music, the speakers,etc. A touristy vehicle in a touristy neighborhood. Christmas morning. If this was someone suicidal maybe they felt invisible. And this was a way of drawing the attention of the world onto them and their pain. Perhaps this area just had some past significance for them- maybe they once worked in the area or played in clubs there or something.

Most remote chance is the rare attack that is staged merely by someone who wants to be a hero and respond to an attack. That was an early theory of investigators at the explosion in West, Texas, for example, although ultimately no charges were brought in that case and no conclusive determination ever made on the actual cause of the blast.

 

[worm]

The employee angle seems off to me because of the sophisticated nature of the bomb. I’m just not seeing someone committing to that kind of study because of a grudge against the company. I may well be wrong of course and I’m not just taking shots at others theories.

 

[whitelilac]

Regarding the possibility that this perp has a beef against AT&T, was fired or is a disgruntled employee, or is a nutcase who is making a statement against technology, lockdowns, or whatever issue he may have, doesn't quite sit well with me.

Why? Because according to the former FBI bomb expert who spoke, this attack was sophisticated. Not just the in explosives themselves, but the countdown recording etc. This was not some bloke who put together a pipe bomb from the internet, or went on a berserk shooting spree due to rage or perceived affront or grudge.

I may be very wrong, but I think, for now, that this was a planned event by someone or a group who are making a statement, without the need to massacre innocent people....for now..., maybe as a warning of what can come next, a message of capability, to instill fear, to draw attention ...to something, or a false flag situation to implicate or to cast suspicion on a someone(s) in particular.

Thinking aloud, I don't have a clue really, and I wonder...why Nashville? Why Christmas? Why no manifesto ?

 

[AutumnFalls]

It seems strange to me that the At&T building was the target. I'm not familiar with Nashville, but I thought I heard that a police station was also close. Could the bomber have been wanting to target the police in particular? The warning and gunshots could have been to draw cops in. I know there's a lot of strong feelings about the police lately so they could also be a target.

I have to agree that it seems to sophisticated for a disgruntled worker. I'm leaning towards a group of some sort. I'd lean toward domestic terrorism of some sort. Middle Eastern terrorists tend to use certain phrases in their messages and take credit quickly.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

My thoughts:

1) I’m thinking it’s not terrorist related or any person or group with a political or social agenda simply because no one has claimed responsibility. Their whole point of doing this kind of thing is to spotlight their cause so I don’t see that here.
2) An individual, like the Unabomber, with a grudge against technology or something similar. Maybe. But only if a manifesto shows up in some TV stations mail on Monday. No point in doing it if nobody knows why you did it.
3) Disgruntled employee at some business along that street. These people tend to target their fellow employees and act fairly quickly so that doesn’t seem to fit here.
4) Disgruntled customer of some business. Maybe. If this is the case this person will be identified and arrested very soon. This person will have harassed this business for a fairly long time, and they will be able to let LE on to them quickly.
5) One sick individual. Most likely drives in from out of state. Picks location at random...possibly picks city at random. Fires gun to attract attention. Last shot kills himself before blast. Remains found by police.
This person has no need to tell anybody anything.
Just my thoughts.

 

[worm]

@whitelilac , I’ve been kicking that same “why Nashville” question around too. I can only think the perp is from the south somewhere or maybe because Nashville is such a famous city. There has been a lot of attention on Nashville recently too due to the Caitlyn Kaufman Case. Just more of my late night rambling thoughts.

 

[uburoi1]

I think that, in the final analysis, this action will prove to have been predicated on the current political zeitgeist in the U.S.

 

[Dre]

Sophisticated indeed.
A bombing that specifically planned for no casualties?
Nashville?
AT&T, 911 and airport went out for hours.

Were they able to hack something major in that timeframe?
Was this a test?

 

[whitelilac]

I think that, in the final analysis, this action will prove to have been predicated on the current political zeitgeist in the U.S.

Yes, I can agree with this.
Tensions are very high.

 

[worm]

I think that, in the final analysis, this action will prove to have been predicated on the current political zeitgeist in the U.S.

While I hope this isn’t the case, I’ve been thinking it all day as well.

 

[BushwickHipster]

I don' t want to keep throwing random theories out there. Moreso leaving this here as a "thinking out loud" activity.

But I think with the Beirut blast, that a lot of people learned that you can just grab a barrel of ammonium nitrate from a farm and light it. An RV is smaller than a warehouse full of the stuff, the very bright flash of light and shockwave seems consistent although i'm not a bomb expert.

"requiring sophistication" would be negated if it tests positive for the fertilizer.

Also "Employee grudge" goes right out the window, if you had a grudge against your former co-workers you wouldn't do this at 6am on Christmas during a pandemic. You would wait for people to fill the actual Office building down the street around 9am, instead of picking a datacenter at 6am, you wouldn't warn them either.

"Company/Infrastructure" Grudge definitely still holds up.

If it were foreign terrorists they would have parked the thing in times square.

 

[Inobu]

The finding of the shot gun shells, along with the conformation of shots fired. The fact that no LE exchanged fire. No missing person reported.

That poses the question what was the purpose of the shooting. If no one was shot then what was?

They should look for signs of shotgun blasts on the doors, gate or entry.
A likely theory is a failed attempt to gain access into the building. That holds true
to the point that no one was shot.

Really strange series of events.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

I wonder why Christmas Day and not Thanksgiving? (From the UK, it sometimes almost seems that Thanksgiving is a bigger occasion than Christmas).

 

[Inobu]

^ Would a disgruntled employee have the sophistication to carry this out? Planting a pipe bomb is one thing, but this seems more like a big operation.

The was an old school telecommunication facility which supports electrical and network equipment. The job in a central office required electronic knowledge. A lot of wiring and circuitry knowledge was prevalent there.
Its the only real target and the only system that was affected.