Nashville bomber Anthony Q. Warner’s motive appears linked to 'more destruction than death,' TBI director says

Evidence indicates that Anthony Quinn Warner, the man authorities say killed himself while detonating a bomb in downtown Nashville Christmas morning, likely did not intend to kill others in the attack, according to the state's top investigative official.

"It does appear that the intent was more destruction than death," said David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in an interview Monday on TODAY.  "That's all still speculation at this point as we continue in our investigation with all of our partners."

Federal investigators on Sunday announced that 63-year-old Warner of Antioch was the "bomber" in the explosion, and that they had confirmed his remains were found at the scene of the blast, which took place around 6:30 a.m. Friday on Second Avenue.

Police believe Warner acted alone in parking his RV outside an AT&T switch facility before blaring evacuation warnings — as well as the 1964 song "Downtown" by Petula Clark — before setting off a bomb that damaged dozens of buildings in the area.

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"When you look at all the facts at this point, obviously the audio from the vehicle warning people that an explosion was imminent, the opportunity to clear the area, certainly gives you that insight that the possibility was he had no intention of harming anyone but himself," Rausch said. "That obviously plays into our investigation."

The TBI director shared other new information on the case, describing how investigators went about confirming that the remains found at the scene were Warner's.

Rausch said they collected items from another vehicle of Warner's, including a hat and some gloves to retrieve DNA samples.

Investigators continue to comb through leads and are actively conducting interviews, he said, in an effort to better understand what may have motivated Warner.

Acquaintances and neighbors told The Tennessean that Warner was not vocal about political or religious beliefs. The Antioch native rarely left home, but was frequently outside working in his yard or playing with his dogs.

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"The best way to find motive is to talk to the individual," Rausch said. "We will not be able to do that in this case.

"A lot of it will be what we can gather through interviews and ultimately what the evidence will point us toward. We may never find out the exact reasoning behind the activity that took place."

As TODAY Host Craig Melvin listed information that had been reported in outlets like The Tennessean — that Warner had no known social media presence or closely held political ideology — Rausch nodded along.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.