25 December 2020, 11:36 AM
wtgExplosion in Nashville
911 caller says there were shots fired downtown. Police arrive and RV full of explosives blows up. Three cops slightly injured, one with what they hope is temporary hearing loss.
Damage to buildings in a several block radius. Large trees near the bomb ripped out of the ground.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/larg...-downtown-nashville/ 
25 December 2020, 12:26 PM
jodiOmg.
26 December 2020, 02:54 AM
Steve MillerVery strange story. The recorded message, the location of the RV away from centers of population, and the spectacular power of the bomb - none of this makes sense.
Signs point to incompetence rather than ideology.
We shall see.
26 December 2020, 10:22 AM
Piano*DadActually sounds like the MO of ETA, the Basque organization. They used to plant bombs and then issue warnings to reduce the likelihood of casualties. The campaign was against institutions of the state/order to make a point. But they clearly let the authorities know whose work it was. I'm guessing whoever did this will have left some intentional clues. We'll see.
26 December 2020, 11:09 AM
jodiThere are 40 something tweets in his thread, but worth reading his thought process. (Hat tip GeorgeK /TNCR)
https://twitter.com/AlexLittle.../134258611477171404826 December 2020, 01:09 PM
markjThe explosion took out a single commercial communications hub.
And THAT crippled the city. It took down the airport. Took down emergency services and police communications. Took down data and the internet, which crippled news, information services, social media, and thus both government and the public's awareness and ability to respond.
And yet, the terrorists took pains to reduce the number of human casualties. Why?
Unless this is a Bruce Willis Christmas movie involving international criminals covering up the theft of billions in bearer bonds, then the odds are very high this was a probing attack -- a test by our enemies foreign OR domestic.
This used to be my job. Cut a critical comms node, see what effect it has on the target, how long it takes to restore, how the adversary responds. Of course, that was war.
This is either something similar, or the terrorists got incredibly lucky.
26 December 2020, 01:15 PM
NinaStill down -- my sister and one nephew's family (nowhere near the blast, totally OK) are still without cell service.
markj--I hope you're not right, but it makes sense to me that what you say is correct. One thing I thought of is how vulnerable our communications infrastructure is. Here's a critical comms center right in the middle of downtown, in a busy tourist area, and a potentially "obvious" terrorist target. Ugh.
My bias in a lot of these is to assume the terrorists just got incredibly lucky. I always tend to lean toward incompetence/stupidity rather than a highly sophisticated plan. Obviously I'm not correct in a lot of cases. One of the things that concerns me (not having read the tweets above in Jodi's thread) is the idea that they gave 15 minutes' warning, then waited until people (and police) arrived or started coming back, then detonated the device. This is a pretty classic terrorist move, intended to maximize casualties.
26 December 2020, 01:22 PM
Piano*Dadquote:
Unless this is a Bruce Willis Christmas movie involving international criminals covering up the theft of billions in bearer bonds, then the odds are very high this was a probing attack -- a test by our enemies foreign OR domestic.
Intriguing idea. If it's foreign, the administration could easily interpret the event as a cassus belli and act accordingly.
26 December 2020, 01:50 PM
jodiRead the tweets - its about the talking points - the possibilities.
26 December 2020, 02:41 PM
NinaYep - and what does it mean that only a handful of the possibilities seem to be utterly ridiculous? What a year.
26 December 2020, 03:26 PM
DanielYes. What a year.
26 December 2020, 07:38 PM
CHASTennessee is a hotbed of right wing nuts.
26 December 2020, 09:41 PM
jodiquote:
Originally posted by Nina:
Yep - and what does it mean that only a handful of the possibilities seem to be utterly ridiculous? What a year.
No kidding.
27 December 2020, 03:49 PM
wtgquote:
LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) – Highway 231 South in Wilson County is closed due to a suspicious vehicle.
***ROAD CLOSURE***
Highway 231 South from the Cedars of Lebanon State Park to Richmond Shop road is currently shut down due to a suspicious vehicle. Please avoid the area and seek an alternate route. We will post updates as more information comes in.
— Wilson Co Sheriff (@wilsonsheriff) December 27, 2020
Highway 231 South is closed from the Cedars of Lebanon State Park to Richmond Shop road.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene and said deputies are investigating a box truck parked at a store “playing audio similar to the Christmas explosion in Nashville.”
Sheriff’s deputies in Rutherford and Wilson Counties are investigating a box truck parked at a store playing audio similar to the Christmas explosion in Nashville.
The driver was stopped by deputies and detained.
https://www.wkrn.com/news/loca...-suspicious-vehicle/
Jodi