Neighbor of Nashville bombing suspect 'thought something good was gonna be happening'
Erin Burnett OutFront was joined Monday night by Rick Laude, a neighbor of alleged Nashville bomber Anthony Warner. Early on Christmas morning, Nashville was rocked by a large blast, in which Warner is believed to have died. Laude said he last talked to Warner on the Monday before Christmas, and that nothing in the conversation was cause for alarm. In fact, the conversation left Laude thinking something really 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. “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.’”
Laude thought that whatever good was coming Warner’s way may have had something to do with his background in IT.
“I thought to myself, well, if he's an electronics 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,” Laude said. “Nothing about that conversation raised a red flag.”
Laude lived next to Warner for 10 years, and though the two knew each other, Laude was clear that he did not consider Warner a friend.
“He was a recluse,” Laude said. “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.”
Laude ended the interview with a plea for viewers to help those who have been negatively affected by the bombing.
“I’m just asking everybody of all walks of life to please remember the people who had a home at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning, and at 6:30 a.m. they were now homeless. Please help these people,” Laude said. “And one last thing, if anybody you know has a mental illness problem, get them help and don't stop until you get help.”
Investigators are still working to identify a motive for the bombing.
Erin Burnett OutFront airs weeknights at 7 p.m. on CNN.
Watch this congressman’s interview get interrupted by his dog: ‘She’s very excited that the bill was signed’:
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
