The city of Nashville praised and identified six police officers who cleared part of the city’s downtown area moments before an explosion rocked the neighborhood on Christmas Day.
“They are heroes,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said of the six officers who evacuated a downtown street before an RV exploded and caused damage to at least 41 buildings and injured three on Friday.
The first responders were identified as officer Brenna Hosey, a four-year veteran, officer James Luellen, a three-year veteran, officer Michael Sipos, a rookie with 16 months on the job, officer Amanda Topping, with the department for 21 months, officer James Wells, also with the department for 21 months, and Sgt. Timothy Miller, an 11-year veteran.
These six Nashville police officers evacuated residents moments before a motor home exploded https://t.co/FnhQTOVneY pic.twitter.com/ekBa7xF2bh
— CNN (@CNN) December 26, 2020
The six officers responded to a call of shots fired at about 6 a.m. on Christmas Day and found an RV with a loudspeaker blaring, “All buildings in this area must be evacuated now.”
At that point, officers began knocking on doors and sweeping the area to evacuate as many people as possible. Moments later, the RV exploded and sent a shock wave of destruction, fire, and smoke that was reportedly heard miles away.
Surveillance footage from downtown Nashville captured a loudspeaker warning residents to flee the scene shortly before a large explosion rocked the area. pic.twitter.com/Ng824b5GQn
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 25, 2020
Authorities believe the explosion was an intentional act and are investigating the perpetrator and the motive. Multiple news outlets have reported that police labeled 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner of Nashville as a person of interest in the case.
