Authorities investigating the Christmas explosion in Nashville will swab the mother of suspect Anthony Quinn Warner to determine a match to the remains found in the RV.
Two senior law enforcement officials who have seen the investigation reports confirmed to Newsweek on Saturday that federal investigators were searching the residence and locating the mother of Warner, who is allegedly involved in the explosion of a recreational vehicle in downtown Nashville at around 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning. The incident would likely be a suicide bombing if the DNA of the suspect's mother is determined to be linked to remains found in the RV, one law enforcement official said.
The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case on the record.
"I would say, in order to identify the human remains, it's likely a family member of Mr. Warner would be asked to provide DNA. This will most likely be done by the FBI, who is the lead investigative agency," one of the senior law enforcement sources told Newsweek.
"Assuming this is the mother of the bomber, the FBI labs are in 48-72 hour turnaround for confirmation."
Officials previously confirmed that possible human remains were located at the scene of the incident, and an investigation of Warner's home in Antioch, in suburban Nashville, commenced on Saturday.
During a Saturday press conference, U.S. Attorney Don Cochran said that it's still unclear whether there is just one or several suspects involved in the blast that left three people injured in downtown Nashville. Federal, state and local investigators are following up on over 500 leads reported over the past 24 hours.
Cochran described the incident as a "cowardly bombing on Christmas morning" after law enforcement indicated that it was intentional.
Nashville Chief of Police John Drake assured residents that the city is now "safe." John Cooper, the city's mayor, has implemented a curfew in the downtown area until Sunday to limit public access to the crime scene as the investigation continues.
Several news outlets have also identified Warner, a white male 63-year-old Nashville-area resident, as a person of interest in the case. The search at a home connected to Warner on Bakertown Road in Antioch, a neighborhood in Nashville, commenced just before 11 a.m. local time.
Neighbours told The Tennessean that an RV, resembling the vehicle involved in the blast, was seen outside the location over the past two weeks. A Google street view image, taken May 2019, showed a similar vehicle in the driveway; however, it was not present at the location on Saturday when authorities arrived.
A search for Anthony Warner in historic Davidson County criminal records show that a male born on January 17, 1957, who would now be 63 years old, was arrested and charged with a felony offense linked to possession of a controlled substance on January 29, 1978.
Authorities declined to publicly comment on their activity in Antioch and any possible suspects or persons of interest during an afternoon press conference on Saturday.
