Cincy Police Close Street for Suspicious RV Following Nashville Blast

Police in Cincinnati closed a downtown street for approximately two and a half hours Friday to investigate a parked recreational vehicle before giving the ”all clear” and reopening the area.

The unusual action came hours after a recreational vehicle exploded in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, Christmas morning after broadcasting alerts for anyone who could hear them to clear the area.

“We take anything like this extremely seriously. We got units here as quickly as possible and cleared all the traffic out of the area,” Cincinnati Police Sgt. Jerry Hodges told the Cincinnati Enquirer. ”I understand people on heightened alert these days,” Hodges said. “Everything turned out great.”

Police said they were alerted to the RV at about 4:30 p.m. by security and police at the city’s federal building. Using K-9 units, the RV was cleared about 7 p.m. There were conflicting reports — such as one by local CBS/CW affiliate WKRC, which said the RV’s engine was running. Others, such as the Enquirer, said the engine was not running but that an internal generator could be heard starting, apparently to maintain temperature.

The RV was owned by a local man but had out-of-state license plates due to a recent purchase.

“Out of an abundance of caution, based on the incident in Tennessee we are using Explosive Detection K9s to clear the scene,” officials told the Enquirer. “At this time there is nothing else indicating there is anything else of a suspicious nature.”