Nashville police release still of RV before explosion

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. Police were responding to a report of shots fired Friday when they encountered the RV blaring a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes.

Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomb squad. The RV exploded shortly afterward. The Metro Nashville Police Department released an image taken from surveillance video showing a recreational vehicle involved in the explosion. Authorities believe the blast was intentional but don’t yet know a motive or target. Officials had not received any threats before the explosion.

The blast sent black smoke and flames billowing from the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area packed with honky-tonks, restaurants and shops. Buildings shook and windows shattered streets away from the explosion near a building owned by AT&T that lies one block from the company's office tower, a landmark in downtown. Three people taken to area hospitals for treatment were in stable condition Friday evening, officials said. Authorities have found human remains in the vicinity of the explosion.