Finally reopen.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 5 years since the horrific bombing in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day back in 2020.
The RV bombing, carried out by Anthony Warner on the early morning hours of December 25, injured eight and caused millions of dollars in damage to nearby buildings, as well as knocking out cell phone and 911 service to many in the area for hours afterwards.
You probably remember the haunting videos of the six heroic officers working to quickly clear Second Avenue as the RV blared an ominous warning in the background, before the massive explosion rocked Nashville early Christmas morning. But shortly after the bombing, it kind of just disappeared from the headlines as officers were unable to ever find a definitive motive.
It was revealed that Warner had mailed letters to friends discussing 9/11 and moon landing conspiracy theories, as well as his belief in lizard people controlling the earth and tweaking human DNA. And it was also reported that Warner’s girlfriend had warned authorities in 2019 that he was making bombs in his RV.
But in their final report, the FBI found only that Warner’s actions were “an intentional effort to end his own life” driven, at least in part, and that his actions were not related to terrorism. According to the FBI, there was no indication that Warner was driven by any kind of ideological motive, and there was no indication that he specifically chose the location directly by the AT&T data center (so it had nothing to do with 5G – at least according to the FBI).
Ultimately, the report stated that “only Warner knows the real reason why he detonated his explosive device.”
Of course the lack of answers has led to plenty of conspiracy theories over the past few years, and plenty of speculation that the government knows more than what they’ve revealed. But unfortunately, we’re here 5 years later with no real idea of why he did it.
Aside from trying to find answers for the tragedy, Second Avenue in downtown Nashville has spent the last five years working to rebuild from the devastation.
The bombing damaged 65 buildings, which included both residential space and businesses like bars, restaurants and stores. One building collapsed, while others had to be completely demolished. But through it all, Nashville was forced to balance between rebuilding and protecting the historic nature of the buildings.
Ultimately, Second Avenue in downtown Nashville has slowly reopened in bits and pieces over the past couple years, but today the street has fully reopened to vehicle traffic for the first time since 2020.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell, joined by Metro Nashville Police Department Sgt. James Wells, who was one of the officers who worked to clear Second Avenue before the bombing, marked the reopening of Second Avenue between Commerce and Church Streets, the final portion of the road that had been under construction and closed since the bombing.
Of course as you can see in the pictures, there’s still plenty of work to be done on the buildings that were damaged in the explosion. Over two dozen businesses left the street and never returned, compounded by the problems that were presented by the bombing coming in the middle of the COVID pandemic shutdowns. And according to Mayor O’Connell, it’s still going to be a while before the street is fully back to normal:
“Many of the property owners there are still in the throes of really challenging insurance disputes. So, as much as we would like some of those buildings that were historic to bounce back at least as if not more quickly than some of the public infrastructure work that’s been done, there are some cases where it’s just not possible.”
It’s great to see Second Avenue finally reopen. (It was a pain to have to drive or walk around the construction site, and construction on the street blocked many entrances to businesses that had been reopened). Now let’s hope they can bring the buildings back to their former glory, and not turn it into another Broadway full of cheesy artist bars.
