Access will only be given to buildings deemed safe by structural engineers, Chris Taylor, chief of Nashville Metro police, said during a news conference Monday.
It could be a few more days before anyone can enter other buildings on the street where the blast took place, he said.
A recreational vehicle was parked on 2nd Avenue North, right in front of an AT&T transmission building on Friday, when a message came out warning those to evacuate before the vehicle exploded, causing damage to more than 40 buildings and injuring at least eight people.
Although the extent of her injuries has not been revealed, all patients have been discharged, TriStar Centennial Medical Center spokeswoman Jill Newham said Monday.
And while AT&T said most of the service in the area has been restored, residents say the photos they see of the rubble are overwhelming.
“I know these streets as the back of my hand. It’s my life. It’s my love. I’ve been there every day of the week for years and I can’t even distinguish what it was, where it is or where it was. shop (and it’s really heartbreaking, ”Pete Gibson, the owner of Pride & Glory Tattoo on 2nd Avenue, told CNN.
“This year has been tough,” Gibson told Natasha Chen of CNN. “Obviously it’s been a little down compared to normal. But just when we get a little light at the end of the tunnel, everything goes in two seconds.”
An explosion on a historic street
A few hours later, residents reported the sound of gunfire and police responded to the historic street around 5:30 p.m.
The vehicle then began emitting a computerized female voice warning that an explosion would occur within 15 minutes. The RV also aired Petula Clark’s hit Downtown hit in 1964, a song about how bustling downtown can cure a lonely person’s problems.
When the countdown ended, the message changed.
“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 the RV exploded.
“I just saw the biggest flames I’ve ever seen, the biggest explosion,” Officer Amanda Topping said. “I just saw orange and … I felt the heat, the wave.”
With no one claiming any responsibility and intent to avoid mass causation, authorities spent the next few days searching for the bomber’s identity.
Identified bomber
Warner’s father previously worked at AT&T, Tennessee Research Office director David Rausch confirmed Monday. He said investigators are studying whether this may be relevant to the reasons for the bombing.
Warus, of Antioch, Tennessee, had not previously been on law enforcement radar, said Rausch, the director of the TBI.
FBI agent Doug Korneski said investigators are interviewing people who knew Warner to try to find out a possible motive. There are no indications that anyone was involved, he said.
“Those answers won’t come quickly,” Korneski said. “While we can answer some of these questions … none of these answers will be enough for those affected by this event.”
Rick Laude, a Warner neighbor since 2010, told CNN on Monday that he spoke to Warner four days before the bombing.
“I said,‘ Hey, Anthony, will Santa bring you something good for Christmas? Laude said. “Yes, I’ll be more famous. I’ll be so famous that Nashville will never forget me.”
Laude said she thought Warner was referring to something good happening.
“Let it be very clear, he and I were not friends,” he said. “You won’t find anyone in my neighborhood who claims to be your friend. He was just a legitimate inmate.”
The wreckage of the RV was recovered from the site and investigators from the Tennessee Highway Patrol were able to determine its vehicle identification number, authorities said Sunday. Korneski said the VIN number matched that of a vehicle registered to Warner.
A tip on the RV took law enforcement officials to Warner’s Bakertown Road home, a law enforcement official told CNN. Federal investigators were at home Saturday conducting “court-authorized activities,” FBI spokesman Jason Pack told CNN.
Investigators positively identified Warner by comparing the DNA of the scene to that of the gloves and hat of a vehicle he owned, Rausch said Monday.
CNN’s Jamiel Lynch, Hollie SIlverman, Eric Levenson, Amir Vera, Kay Jones and Natasha Chen contributed to this report.