Neighbor of alleged Nashville bomber recalls last conversation: 'Nashville and the world will never forget me'

Suspected Nashville bomber Anthony Warner’s neighbor, Rick Laude joined Erin Burnett OutFront Monday night where he spoke about his last conversation with Warner. Laude said he talked to Warner on the Monday before he is believed to have died in the early Christmas morning blast. Though in hindsight Warner alluded to the bombing, Laude said there was nothing about the conversation that raised an alarm. In fact, Laude left the conversation believing that something good was happening for Warner.

“The conversation, nothing raised a red flag as to something horrible would happen. When I drove away from that conversation, I thought that something good was going to be happening for Anthony,” Laude said, later adding, “Just out of small talk, I asked him, ’Is Santa going to bring you anything good for Christmas?’ And he smiled and he said, ‘Oh, yeah. I'm going to be famous. Nashville and the world will never forget me.’”

Video Transcript

RICK LAUDE: That conversation nothing raised the red flag as something horrible would happen. And when I drove away from that conversation, I thought that something good was going to be happening for Anthony.

- Rick Laude, neighbor of alleged Nashville bomber Anthony Warner, appeared on "Erin Burnett OutFront" Monday night, where he recalled the last conversation he had with Warner just a few days before the Christmas-morning blast.

RICK LAUDE: I asked him, is Santa going to bring you anything good for Christmas? And he smiled and he said, oh yeah. I'm going to be famous. Nashville and the world will never forget me.

- Investigators are still searching for Warner's motive in the bombing, and Laude said that nothing in their conversation raised an alarm.

RICK LAUDE: I thought to myself, well, if he's an electronic technician and an IT technician, maybe he developed an app that he felt confident was going to get patented and have a nice little payday. Nothing about that conversation raised a red flag.

- And Laude wanted to make it clear that though he knew Warner, he didn't consider him a friend.

RICK LAUDE: Let me be very clear. He and I were not friends. You will not find anybody in my neighborhood who will claim to be a friend of his. He was just a legitimate recluse.