Video captures moment Nashville explosion blew windows out of home

Home security recording shows Nashville explosion

Home security camera footage captured the moment of a downtown explosion in Nashville, Tennessee on December 25.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Shocking security footage shows the moment an explosion in Nashville that authorities have deemed intentionally rocked a nearby home on Christmas Day, shattering the windows.

Police believe the blast was intentional but don’t yet know a motive or target. The blast sent black smoke and flames billowing from the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area packed with honky-tonks, restaurants and shops.

Buildings shook and windows shattered streets away from the explosion near a building owned by AT&T that lies one block from the company's office tower, a landmark in downtown.

The footage, from resident Aaron Trevethan, is a view from inside the home. The in-home security video captured the moment the explosion went off, causing the recording device to shift violently and debris to fall from the ceiling.

Glass appears to shatter out of the windows from the force of the explosion.

Buck McCoy, who lives near the area, posted videos on Facebook that show water pouring down the ceiling of his home. Alarms blare in the background along with cries of people in distress. A fire is visible in the street outside.

McCoy said he heard gunfire 15 minutes before the explosion rocked his building, set cars in the street on fire and blew trees apart."All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there it would have been horrible," he said."It felt like a bomb. It was that big," he told The Associated Press.

Three people were injured due to the blast that is linked to a recreational vehicle found near the explosion site. The blast caused widespread communications outages due to its proximity to the AT&T building that took down police emergency systems and grounded holiday travel at the city's airport.

Police were originally responding to reports of shots fired Friday when they encountered the RV blaring a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said. Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomb squad. The RV exploded shortly afterward, Drake said.

"This morning’s attack on our community was intended to create chaos and fear in this season of peace and hope. But Nashvillians have proven time and time again that the spirit of our city cannot be broken," Mayor John Cooper said at a news conference after issuing a curfew for the area.

The Associated Press and Storyful contributed to this report.