TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 23, 2025

The Metro Nashville Police Department released findings on Friday from a cold case investigation into three unsolved civil rights bombings that occurred in Nashville between 1957 and 1960. Launched at the request of Mayor Freddie O’Connell after reading Betsy Phillips’ 2024 book Dynamite Nashville, the investigation focused on bombings at Hattie Cotton Elementary School, the Jewish Community Center and the home of civil rights attorney J. Alexander Looby. According to WSMV 4, detectives found no living individuals directly connected to the crimes but uncovered a decades-old fire marshal report linking stolen dynamite from a Clarksville business to the Looby bombing. Detectives cited limited records, lack of physical evidence and the age or death of possible witnesses as major obstacles in piecing together what happened in the cases. While the cases remain open, they will be considered inactive unless new, actionable information emerges.