Nashville mayor: ‘I expect a lot of questions’ about bombing ‘will have answers relatively soon’

Nashville, Tenn. Mayor John Cooper (D) said Sunday that he anticipated answers “relatively soon” relating the Christmas morning bombing in the city.

“I expect a lot of questions will have answers relatively soon,” Cooper said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Asked if officials had further information on the motivation, Cooper replied, “I know what you know, what the authorities are reporting to the public … I think there is a lot of momentum in the investigation.”

#Nashville latest: Mayor @johncooper4nash tells @margbrennan “there’s a lot of momentum behind the investigation” into the explosion and expects ” a lot of questions to be answered relatively soon” as hundreds of law enforcement agents are on the ground. pic.twitter.com/SC1vfbk5Da

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 27, 2020

Cooper also expanded on his suggestion that the bombing, which took the form of an exploding recreational vehicle, could have been an attack on communications infrastructure.

“The track was parked adjacent to this large, historic AT&T facility … all of us locally feel like there has to be some connection,” he said. The mayor added that the blast had also devastated numerous local businesses already hit hard by closures or reduced service due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The damage on Second Avenue is not dissimilar to what the tornado inflicted on Nashville,” he said. “We’re going to need to get this rebuilt, it’s part of our historic identity of Nashville.”

Cooper went on to express confidence that there was not a continuing threat in the area.

“I feel confident in repeating what the investigators said yesterday, that they think the threat is over,” he told CBS’ Margaret Brennan. “I think they would not have said that unless they were confident it is true.”

Federal investigators have reportedly identified a local man as a person of interest but not necessarily a suspect in connection with the bombing.