NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A recreational vehicle parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded early Christmas morning, causing widespread communications outages that took down police emergency systems and grounded flights at the city’s airport.
Authorities said they believe the blast was intentional.
Three people were hurt in the explosion, which shattered windows and damaged buildings.
Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said police were responding to a report of shots fired when they encountered a recreational vehicle blaring a recording that said a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes.
Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomb squad.