The Nashville bomber has been identified as Anthony Q. Warner, a 63-year-old man from Antioch, Tennessee, amid swirling theories of the motive behind the Christmas morning explosion that demolished a block of the city. "Anthony Warner is the bomber ... He was present when the bomb went off, and he perished in the bombing," Nashville by U.S. Attorney Don Cochran said.
DNA examinations of tissue samples by both the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI laboratory in Quantico, were consistent to those of Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, of Antioch, Metro Nashville Police Department said. DNA recovered from the scene of the explosion was matched to samples taken during the raid at Warner's brick home in Antioch, investigators said.
The results of the forensic tests of human remains recovered from the blast site on 2nd Avenue were released by Special Agent in Charge Doug Korneski of the FBI Memphis Field Office.
MNPD said the key break in the investigation came when the Tennessee Highway Patrol located and recovered the VIN number from Warner's van used in the blast. That information, along with crucial tips from the public, led to the home of the suspect in Antioch, the MNPD said in a statement.
The press release said the FBI and ATF Agents are recovering and analyzing more evidence. "The motive for the incident is still unclear. Leads are still being followed, but at this time, there is no indication that any other individuals are involved," the statement said.
The investigators said there was no evidence at this time that anyone outside of Warner was involved in the explosion. They came to the conclusion after analyzing hours of surveillance footage.
In other updates, the investigators have also not zeroed in on the kind of explosives used in the bombing. The FBI also said Warner was not on the radar of any authorities before the Christmas morning blast.
The authorities have not yet called the Nashville blast an act of terrorism as they haven't been able to establish the motive behind the violent act. According to Korneski, the investigators must be able to tie Warner's motivation to an ideology before they can call it an act of terrorism.
Earlier, the investigators had come around to the conclusion that the Nashville explosion was a suicide attack. The ATF and the FBI raided a duplex home in Antioch, southeast of Nashville. Residents living near the brick home said they noticed the recreational van at the home in the last two weeks. The building sits on a part of the town that's replete with rental homes.
The blast, which took place around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, injured three people and damaged more than 40 downtown businesses, besides killing Warner.
