The theory of the lizard or reptile conspiracy implies the belief that shape-changing reptilian creatures appear in human form and engage in world domination.
Warner, according to authorities, also spent time looking for alien life forms in a nearby state park.
It is unclear whether any of these beliefs or behaviors are related in any way to the bombing.
This is a last minute update. An earlier version of this report is shown below.
In the days leading up to a bomb blast in downtown Nashville at Christmas, Anthony Quinn Warner changed his life in a way that suggests he never wanted to survive the explosion that killed him and injured three other people.
Warner, 63, donated his car and told the recipient he had cancer. A month before the bombing, he signed a document moving his long home in a Nashville suburb to a California woman in exchange for nothing. The computer consultant told a businessman he was retiring.
But he left no clear digital footprint or any other obvious clues to explain why he caused the explosion with his RV parked or touched a message warning people to flee before damaging dozens of buildings and leaving them service the mobile in the area.
WATCH: Nashville PD Releases Camera Camera Images of Christmas Day Blast
While investigators were trying to reconcile a possible motive for the attack, a neighbor recalled a recent conversation with Warner that seemed disastrous only a posteriori.
Rick Laude told The Associated Press on Monday that he saw Warner standing in his mailbox less than a week before Christmas and stopped in his car to talk. After asking her how Warner’s older mother was doing, Laude said she casually asked, “Will Santa bring you anything good for Christmas?”
Warner smiled and said, “Oh, yes, Nashville and the world will never forget me,” Laude recalled.
Laude said he didn’t think much about the comment and that Warner just meant that “something good” would happen to him financially. He was stunned when he learned that authorities had identified Warner as the bomber.
“Nothing about this guy raised any red flags,” Laude said.
As investigators continued to search for a motive, the body camera video released Monday afternoon by Nashville police offered more information about the pre-explosion moments and their aftermath.
Officer Michael Sipos’s camera recording captures officers passing in front of the RV parked across the street while the warnings were recorded and then helped people evacuate after the camera exploded. Car alarms and sirens cry as police send voice calls to all available staff and people stumble across downtown streets full of glass.
David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said authorities hope to establish a motive, but sometimes they simply cannot.
“The best way to find reasons is to talk to the individual. We won’t be able to do that in this case,” Rausch said Monday in an interview on NBC’s “Today.”
Investigators are analyzing Warner’s belongings collected during the investigation, including a computer and a portable storage unit, and continue to interview witnesses as they try to identify a possible motive, a law enforcement official said. A review of their financial transactions also uncovered purchases of potential components to make pumps, the official said.
SEE: The police camera shows the moment the downtown Nashville bomb explodes
Warner had recently donated a vehicle and told the person he gave it that he had been diagnosed with cancer, although it is unclear if he actually had cancer, the official said. Investigators used some items collected in the vehicle, including a hat and gloves, to match Warner’s DNA, and the DNA was taken from one of his relatives, the official said.
The official was unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Apparently, Warner also gave his home in Antioch, Tennessee, to a Los Angeles woman a month before the bombing. A property record dated November 25 indicates that Warner transferred the house to the woman in exchange for no money. The woman’s signature does not appear in this document.
Warner had worked as a computer consultant for Nashville real estate agent Steve Fridrich, who told the AP in a text message that Warner had said he would retire earlier this month.
CLOCK: The video shows the consequences of the explosion:
Officials said Warner had not been on his radar before Christmas. A law enforcement report released Monday showed that Warner’s only arrest was for a 1978 marijuana-related charge.
“It appears the intent was more destruction than death, but once again, this remains speculation at this point as we continue our investigation with all of our partners,” Rausch said.
Officials have not provided information on why Warner selected the specific location for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and wreaked havoc on mobile phone service and police and hospital communications in several southern states. On Monday, the company said most of the services had been restored for residents and businesses.
Forensic analysts were reviewing tests at the site of the blast to try to identify the components of the explosives, as well as information from the U.S. Bomb Data Center for intelligence and investigation services, according to a U.S. military official. ‘order that said researchers were examining the digital and financial footprint of Warner history.
The official, who was not allowed to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke with the PA on condition of anonymity, said federal agents were examining a number of possible contacts and pursuing various theories, including the possibility that treated of the AT&T building.
The bombing took place one holiday morning long before the downtown streets were bustling with activity. Police were responding to a report of gunfire Friday when they encountered the RV sounding a warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. Then, for reasons that will never be known, the audio switched to a recording of Petula Clark’s 1964 hit “Downtown” shortly before the explosion.
Copyright © 2020 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.