Nashville Bomber’s Girlfriend Reportedly Warned Authorities Last Year He Was ‘Building Bombs in the RV’
The former girlfriend of the man who blew himself up in a Christmas morning suicide bombing in downtown Nashville warned law enforcement more than a year ago that he was “building bombs in the RV trailer at his residence.” But neither local or federal authorities were able to search the vehicle.
According to a report in the Tennessean, the bomber’s girlfriend had notified Nashville metro police back in August 2019 about his bomb-making, and federal authorities were subsequently alerted as well. But in the days after the attack, the state’s bureau of investigations claimed the bomber was “not on our radar” prior to blowing up a city block and injuring three people.
After the girlfriend warned officers in a live interview at her home, her then-lawyer, Raymond Throckmorton III, likewise raised alarms, saying his client “frequently talks about the military and bomb making,” and “knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb,” according to a Nashville police report.
Local police then visited the bomber’s home and tried to get permission for a search, but neither the bomber nor his lawyer would consent to a search.
No actions appear to have been taken to stop Warner, a slender 5-foot-8, 135-pound man who died in the explosion, which injured three others.
On Aug. 21, 2019, the girlfriend told Nashville police that Warner “was building bombs in the RV trailer at his residence,” the MNPD report states. Nashville police then forwarded the information to the FBI.
After federal background checks failed to flag the man as a threat and the police could not obtain voluntarily permission for a search, the investigation was apparently dropped.
