Officials have not yet said how or why the RV exploded. But police provided a chronology of what led to the blast, information that, combined with eyewitness accounts, shows the unusual timing of the incident.
“It was made clear when no one would go there,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said.
This is what we know about what happened in Nashville before the explosion.
Several hours later, Betsy Williams said she was awake from what appeared to be a quick shot.
“It looked like an automatic weapon,” he said, saying it was “baffling.”
About 5-10 minutes later, he heard the sound again, so he called 911. Minutes later, he heard the shots for the third time, so he called 911 again.
Buck McCoy said he was also awakened by what he thought were shots. He got up and looked out the window, he said, but went back to bed when he saw nothing.
Police said they were called to the scene after a report of gunfire around 5:30 p.m.
Countdown
The RV repeatedly issued a message warning of an explosion that would occur in 15 minutes, police said.
“Evacuate now,” said the computerized female voice coming from the vehicle, according to Williams.
“This vehicle will explode in 15 minutes,” the voice said, according to Williams. After repeating this message for a minute, the voice said the vehicle would explode in 14 minutes. The countdown was activated.
“When the hour started, that’s when we said,‘ oh, no, ’” he said. “We have to get out of here.”
Williams, still in his pajamas, and his family grabbed the cat and headed for his car to leave the area immediately. He said he saw police cordoning off 2nd Avenue to prevent anyone from lowering it.
David Malloy was out walking his dog, a black German Shepherd named DJ, when he noticed police cars on every corner.
Then he heard a voice he thought came from a police car telling people to “evacuate” and “please step back.”
The explosion
As the countdown approached the end, the RV’s message changed, according to the surveillance video taken from a building on the street.
“If you can hear that message, evacuate now,” the voice said around 6:30 p.m. “If you can hear this message, evacuate now.”
Then an explosion and a blinding flash.
Malloy, with his dog, said he asked an agent if they were supposed to evacuate when he saw the explosion.
“It was just that huge fireball explosion,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do with it.”
Williams and his family saw the explosive fireball as they drove down 2nd Avenue, he said.
“It just, I mean, it all shook. It was an explosion,” he said.
When Buck McCoy looked outside, he saw trees everywhere and broken glass pouring down the street.
“Everything on the street was fire,” he said. “There were three cars totally engulfed.”
The aftermath
Mayor John Cooper said Friday that the blast was caused by a “deliberate bomb” intended to create chaos.
Three people were taken to hospitals from the scene, but none are in critical condition, said Joseph Pleasant, PIO of the Nashville fire. The force of the blast dropped one officer and caused hearing loss in another, police said, but no officers were seriously injured.
Police Chief John Drake said investigators found tissue near the site of the blast that could be human remains.
The blast caused at least 41 companies and a building partially collapsed, officials said. Concerned about the structural integrity of the affected buildings, the city cordoned off the area and will not allow anyone to enter until Sunday afternoon.
“It will be a while before 2nd Ave returns to normal,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said.
McCoy, who lives opposite where the RV exploded, said his windows were blown out and water began to spill from the roof. He had scratches on his face, hands and feet, but on the other hand he was fine.