Nashville mayor praises officers who responded to explosion: ‘Incredible heroes’

Nashville, Tenn., Mayor John Cooper (D) hailed the six police officers who responded to the vehicle explosion on Christmas morning as “incredible heroes.”

“These incredible heroes, who ran to danger with uncertain outcomes ahead of them, were responsible for so many injuries being saved,” Cooper said in a Friday press conference, praising the officers’ “swift action.”

Nashville police officers were responding to an emergency call of shots fired in the downtown area around 5:30 a.m. and found an RV with a recording warning that a bomb would detonate within 15 minutes, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Friday afternoon. Officers then evacuated nearby buildings.

The Washington Post reported that a voice could be heard saying, “This area must be evacuated now. If you can hear this message, evacuate now.”

President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden were both briefed on the bombing on Friday. Authorities have labeled the explosion an “intentional act.”

At least six officers quickly began evacuating people from nearby buildings, according to the Tennessean.  The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department released the officers’ names on Friday. The officers were identified as Brenna Hosey, James Luellen, Michael Sipos, Amanda Topping, James Wells and Timothy Miller.

“Those officers saved lives today,” Drake said, according to the newspaper. “They immediately began knocking on doors, not knowing if the bomb was going to go off immediately. They didn’t care about themselves, they didn’t think about that, they cared about the citizens of Nashville.” 

James Smallwood, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Nashville, told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that the officers displayed “nothing short of heroism and courageous actions.”

Three people were injured and are in stable condition at the hospital, CNN reported. Drake said Friday evening that tissue found near the blast site would be examined to determine whether it came from human remains.