Updated 9:45 a.m.
Metro Police are reporting the explosion in downtown Nashville this morning was linked to a vehicle, and investigators believe it was intentional. The blast shook the area around 6:30 on Christmas morning.
WPLN’s Damon Mitchell, who is on the scene, reports three people have been transported to hospitals with injuries, according to emergency officials. TriStar Centennial Medical Center received two non-critical patients, according to a spokesperson.
Emergency responders plan to provide another update at 9:45 a.m. Mayor John Cooper addressed reporters a few minutes earlier.
“It is hard to see so much glass, litter damage and debris. It looks like a blast site, which is hard to see on one of our historic streets,” Cooper says.
Aerial photos from NewsChannel5 show how powerful the blast was, shattering windows for several blocks and damaging the surrounding buildings.
The explosion occurred between First and Second Avenues, and between Broadway and Church Streets. The Nashville Fire Department evacuated the downtown riverfront. They’re currently attending to a building near the intersection of 2nd and Church which reportedly has flames coming through through the roof.
More: Photos from a Christmas morning explosion in downtown Nashville
Residents from as far away as Brentwood reported feeling and hearing the blast. WPLN’s Tony Gonzalez, on the scene about an hour later, says windows along the river are blown out and various alarms are going off. The roof on one building is at least partially collapsed.
Buck McCoy, who works at Legends Corner, posted this video on Facebook from 2nd Ave. from within a building where the windows were broken out and water poured down from the fire sprinkler:
Downtown residents began posting photos to social media immediately.
This is a developing story.
