Christmas Bomber's Girlfriend Warned Police He Was Building a Bomb

In the five days since the Christmas morning bombing outside an AT&T switch facility on Second Avenue — which damaged 41 downtown buildings and disrupted telecommunications across the region — Metro police officials have released surveillance videos of the bombing and harrowing police body camera footage. They held a made-for-television press conference with the six Metro Nashville Police Department officers who bravely evacuated the area while an RV parked on the street blared a warning that it was about to explode. On Sunday, Dec. 27, the department named Anthony Warner of Antioch as the alleged bomber and confirmed that he died at the scene. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Warner was "not on our radar" prior to the explosion. 

But it turns out Warner was on the MNPD's radar. Police had been to his house and seen the RV in which, according to his girlfriend, he was building a bomb. An August 2019 incident report, first reported by The Tennessean Tuesday night, shows the warning Warner's girlfriend gave to police and quotes the woman's attorney, Raymond Throckmorton III, telling officers that Warner "knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb." According to the report, after speaking to his girlfriend, officers went to Warner's home on Bakertown Road in Antioch (pictured above).

"Police knocked on the door but did not receive an answer," the report says. "Police observed that there was a RV trailer in the backyard but the yard was fenced off and police could not see inside the RV."

In a statement to The Tennessean Tuesday night, MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron said that Throckmorton declined to give officers permission to speak to Warner or search the RV. But Throckmorton tells the daily that while he had previously represented Warner in a civil matter, Warner was no longer his client in 2019 and that he did not tell officers they couldn't search the RV. 

Officers did not make any contact with Warner. The department shared the information with the FBI, but it does not appear that any further actions were taken. The report is here, via WKRN. 

The report also notes that Warner's home "has several security cameras and wires attached to a alarm sign on the front door." On a visit to the home earlier this week, the Scene counted four "No Trespassing" signs and one warning that cameras were in use on various parts of the home or fence. At least seven security cameras were visible on the front and back of the home.  

The revelation that the MNPD was warned about Warner raises questions about why they didn't do more to investigate Warner at the time, as well as why they have concealed this information about him in the days since he was identified as a suspect in the bombing. 

At-Large Metro Councilmember Bob Mendes was asking the latter question in response to the news Tuesday night. 

"I’ll be blunt about MNPD’s PR guy Mr. Aaron- when a black man gets shot by police in Nashville, Aaron gets photos of the victim & any weapon distributed in an hour or two," Mendes said in a tweet. "Failing to mention this for 5 days is frustrating."

Jason Steen of Scoop Nashville tweeted on Dec. 26 that "a person who previously dated Anthony Quinn Warner says she reported he was building what she believed to be a bomb to police 'months ago', but nothing ever came of the call." Steen has said on Twitter that he requested records about the report from MNPD but got no response.

The department has not yet responded to the Scene's request for comment on those questions.