True Crime Report By Chris Bunton
(I originally wrote this about a month after the Nashville bombing on Christmas Day 2020. I’ve made a few updates.)
My wife and I went to Nashville, Tennessee for a Valentines Day trip. It was 2021. We stayed at the Union Station Hotel which is about 4 blocks down Broadway from Music Row.
We spent Friday afternoon at the Frist Art Museum, checking out a traveling Picasso exhibit. Then we rested in our hotel for a bit, before venturing out to find a place to eat.
We headed toward the river walking the four or so blocks along Broadway to Music Row. It was dark, and as we approached Music Row, the lights got brighter, while the music and the people poured in and out of the bars, and honky tonks, which line both sides of the street.
We got to the river front, where we could see the Tennessee Titans stadium, and the bridge crossing the Cumberland River. They were lit up, brightly reflecting on the water.
We turned, and decided to walk back up the other side of Broadway street, toward our hotel.
The first street we came to just past the Hard Rock Cafe, was road blocked. The entire street was dark, and seemed out of place, and silent.
Something was odd about it in relation to the life that was going on right beside it. That was when I realized that this was where the bombing had occurred on December 25th, about a month and a half earlier. (2020)
We turned and walked down the barricaded road a little ways to check it out, but decided to turn back to the bright lights of Music Row, and go find something to eat.
We walked up Music Row and finally ate at a place called The Palm, which was excellent. Then, we went back to the hotel.
The next morning, we went for a walk to find a local place for breakfast. But, apparently everyone was still in bed from the night before.
Anyway, we reached the blocked off road, and went to explore it. The further we got down the road, the more unreal it became.
The windows were boarded up in every building at least a block or so away from the epicenter of the blast.
I was surprised by how close this was to what would be considered the heart of the town. It is just a block or so, from Music Row, and the River. When we see it online it does not give a feeling for where it actually occurred.
The block where the bombing happened is full of businesses, bars, boutiques, and apartments. All of which seem to be closed now. (in 2021, after the blast)
It’s just a normal brick building lined street. But, the area had a feeling of some kind of dead zone as we continued walking toward the blast site. It’s odd, because I have visited many such places, where an event or tragedy has occurred, and you can feel something in these types of locations.
At a certain point we ran into a barricade, which stopped even foot traffic. A few people stood around taking pictures, of what looked like a pile of rubble down the street. It appeared as though a building had collapsed on one side of the road with a large black gaping hole in a brick wall on the other side.
A man nearby asked “I’m not a touristy type of person but why is everyone taking pictures?”
A woman answered him, “This is where the bombing happened.” She said.
“I didn’t know it was here.” He relied.
And this was my general feeling. I didn’t know how close it was to everything that makes Nashville who she is.
The feeling there from the people was very somber and respectful of the area. People were quiet and reverent of the space, where the crime happened.
It’s amazing how events and people can turn an ordinary piece of land into a sacred place, in an instant. Whether it’s a dark tragedy or a victory, we can feel that something happened there. We can sense that there is something present, and it is more than what we see.
I think it’s a spiritual thing beyond our conscious reality. Like a footprint of some giant entity that marks it’s passing and we remember it, even if it’s only in our inner being.
But, it’s real. It’s as real as the sunshine in glory, or the cold embrace of the unknown and deep darkness of mystery.
No one really knows why these things happen. What leads people to do the things we do?
Since I wrote this in 2021, they discovered that Anthony Quinn Warner was found dead in the van used in the blast, and it is assumed he was the bomber.
I have not visited Nashville since I wrote this and have not seen what it looks like today.
It’s hard to say what goes through a persons mind, to cause them to do something like this.
But, we can say that Anthony tried to make sure no one got hurt. While at the same time killing himself.
I think people fight spiritual battles which impact and damage the mind. It can even start when they are young because of some generational, genetic or environmental conditions that opens a person up to demonic influence.
Sometimes, it just torments the person or their loved ones. But, other times it breaks out into the world and causes damage or death to others.
I’m not saying they are possessed. But I think that all of us sometimes believe random thoughts, that might not really be from our own mind. Then, those thoughts can drag us down a hole from which we have trouble escaping. Even what appears to be normal good people can be driven or twisted into doing things that are insane.
I’m sure you’ve seen it in your own life when you asked, “What were you thinking?”
I’ve studied crime, and criminals of all kinds. I’ve looked into terrible crimes like this one, and serial killers, or mass murderers. And often there is a feeling that “they had no clue why they did what they did.” or they were driven by something, or simply found ways to justify it.
No child says. “I wanna grow up to be a serial killer or mass murderer or bomber or thief or addict.” Something happens to them.
It seems that “something” whispered to them and grew them into the person they became, or led them to do what they did.
I’m not saying the devil made them do it. They had the choice. But, I often do think there is a spiritual element behind the scenes that we do not see.
Further reading:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nashville-bombing-suspect-is-anthony-quinn-warner-63-police-sources-say
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Nashville_bombing
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anthony-quinn-warner-rick-laude_n_5fea3b40c5b66809cb336873
https://news.yahoo.com/nashville-bombing-suspect-told-ex-123825697.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/27/us/nashville-explosion-what-we-know/index.html
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.
Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/
Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/
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