Vehicle explodes in downtown Nashville, police call it an ‘intentional act’

© Reuters/ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM A vehicle burns near the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville

(Reuters) – A vehicle exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning in what police described as an “intentional act,” and fire officials reported taking three people to hospital but none of them critically injured.

© Reuters/ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM A vehicle burns near the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville

“The explosion was significant, as you can see … the police department, its federal partners – the FBI and ATF – are conducting a large-scale investigation to this point,” said Don Aaron, Nashville police spokesman. “We do believe that the explosion was an intentional act.”

© Reuters/ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM Smoke billows from the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville

Authorities were on their way to the scene of a report of a suspicious vehicle when the explosion occurred about 6:30 a.m. Nashville, the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee, is also the U.S. capital of country music.

© Reuters/ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM Smoke billows from the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Katanga Johnson in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller)

© Reuters/ANDREW NELLES/TENNESSEAN.COM A damaged building is seen near the site of an explosion in the area of Second and Commerce in Nashville