Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the Christmas Day explosion right outside of an AT&T building was part of an "infrastructure attack" atypical of most terrorism plots.
Speaking on CBS News' Face the Nation Sunday morning, Cooper said the perpetrator or perpetrators behind the "deliberate bombing" very likely targeted the massive telecommunications facility on Second Avenue.
Federal and local authorities say the recreational vehicle, which exploded outside of the downtown Nashville AT&T building disrupted 911 call centers, phone lines and cell phone service across the region.
The Democratic mayor and Nashville native offered the "local insight" that the bombing was at least in part intended to decimate service in parts of Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky.
"Those of us in Nashville realize that on Second Avenue there is a big AT&T facility and the truck was parked adjacent to this large, historic AT&T facility, which happens to be in downtown Nashville, somewhat surprisingly," Cooper said in his Sunday television appearance.
"And to all of us locally, it feels like there has to be some connection with the AT&T facility and the site of the bombing. You know, and that's a bit of just local insight, because it's got to have something to do with the infrastructure," Cooper continued.
FBI agents told WSMV-TV in Nashville Sunday that the suspected suicide bomber involved in the attack, Anthony Warner, had "paranoia" over 5G technology used by AT&T other telecommunications giants. Newsweek reached out to federal investigators Sunday for confirmation, but a spokeswoman said they could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
A survey conducted by Politico earlier this year found that thousands of Americans are very concerned about losing more and more privacy through the use of 5G technology. Just over 60 percent of Americans said they fear their privacy will be hindered by hackers amid the global 5G technology race.
"We're going to need help and we may need some help in hardening our infrastructure. Now, the AT&T building itself, I think a lot of it probably survived very well, but you have flooding after these events that gathers in basements. And so some of the problem may have been the result of the cure than from the bombing itself," Cooper said.
"I know AT&T is working very hard and sent a lot of trucks to Nashville to get this back online. They'll have to tell you when it will be, but everybody's working hard to solve the problem," the mayor continued, adding that he "feels confident" there is no ongoing threat to the city.
Newsweek reached out to Cooper's office in Nashville Sunday morning for additional remarks, but did not hear back by time of publishing.
