Nashville RV bomber Anthony Quinn Warner was “heavily into conspiracy theories” about 5G networks — and thought he’d be “hailed a hero” for targeting a huge AT&T network, according to a report.
The 63-year-old loner — who died in his massive Christmas Day suicide blast — may have turned against the telecommunications industry after the 2011 death of his father, who worked for a company that later merged with AT&T, a source close to the investigation told the Daily Mail.
He was believed to be “heavily into conspiracy theories,” especially over fears that 5G networks were killing people, the source said.
“The unofficial motive thus far is the suspect believed 5G was the root of all deaths in the region and he’d be hailed a hero,” the source told the outlet.
“We are waiting on the digital footprint that should finally provide us with some answers,” the source explained following a raid of Warner’s home in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville.
His father, Charles B. Warner, spent his career working for BellSouth, which was acquired by AT&T in 2006, the report noted. The dad — who was nicknamed Popeye — died in July 2011 of dementia, aged 78, the outlet said.
The bomber may also have been dying before his attack, having told an ex-girlfriend that he had cancer, according to the New York Times.
He gave that ex a car and also signed away the deeds to at least two homes — one just before Thanksgiving — before his devastating attack.
As well as razing businesses in the historic downtown area, the 6:30 a.m. blast caused a massive disruption to communications systems that even blacked out 911 centers in several surrounding counties.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper on Sunday said the bombing appeared to be an “infrastructure attack” targeting the AT&T building.
“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,” Cooper told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
“It’s got to have something to do with the infrastructure,” he said.
Experts also warn that the attack showed clear vulnerabilities in Amercia’s telecommunications industry.
“I think this is a wake-up call and a warning for all of us about how vulnerable our infrastructure is, how relatively easy it is for a single individual to do this,” Frank Figliuzzi, former assistant director of counterintelligence at the FBI, told “Face The Nation.”