Police officers were responding to a report of shots on Christmas day in Nashville when they found a RV with a recorded message saying a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes.
“Officers upon hearing that, decided to evacuate the buildings nearby, so they began knocking on doors, making announcements, having emergency communications, communicating with everyone to get people safe,” Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake said on Friday.
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The six police officers were called heroes for saving the lives of many before the explosion.
“They ran to danger with uncertain outcomes ahead of them; they were responsible for so many innocents being saved,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said on Friday.
MNPD released the name of the six officers on Friday. They are:
- Officer Brenna Hosey, a 4-year veteran;
- Officer James Luellen, a 3-year veteran;
- Officer Michael Sipos, a 16-month veteran;
- Officer Amanda Topping, a 21-month veteran;
- Officer James Wells, also a 21-month veteran and
- Sergeant Timothy Miller, who has been with the department for 11 years.
Officer Hosey made news last January when she rescued a coyote that made its way into the Nashville Music City Center during an event, according to The Tennessean.
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The bomb ripped through downtown Nashville on 6:30 a.m. on Christmas Day injuring three people and damaging several buildings.
Chief Drake said “the officers saved lives. They immediately began knocking on doors, not knowing if the bomb was going to go off immediately. They didn’t care about themselves, they didn’t think about that, they cared about the citizens of Nashville.”
