The tragic bombing in Nashville on Christmas Day has brought out support from city leaders and country music stars. The Nashville Chief of Police is publicly acknowledging six officers in praise of their bravery and dedication to the safety of those in the area at the time of the bombing. The president of the FOP in Nashville also weighed in.

It’s been a tough year for police departments across the country and some public praise for those who performed their jobs in such a professional manner from the beginning of the impending attack until the end deserve praise.

At least six officers quickly began evacuating people from nearby buildings, according to the Tennessean. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department released the officers’ names on Friday. The officers were identified as Brenna Hosey, James Luellen, Michael Sipos, Amanda Topping, James Wells and Timothy Miller.

“Those officers saved lives today,” Drake said, according to the newspaper. “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.”

James Smallwood, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Nashville, told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that the officers displayed “nothing short of heroism and courageous actions.”

Mayor John Cooper spoke of them as heroes. The blast knocked one officer to the ground.

Mayor John Cooper called them “heroes” at a Friday evening news conference.

“They ran to danger with uncertain outcomes ahead of them; they were responsible for so many innocents being saved,” he said.

The mayor, a Democrat, however, was criticized on social media for his odd laughter during a press conference about the bombing. Perhaps it was a nervous reaction but laughter during such a serious press conference was noticeably out of place. He appeared to be making a joke about the bombing being the only explosion to deal with that day. Yikes. As a side note, Mayor John Cooper is the brother of U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, who represents Nashville in Washington.

During the appearance on local TV, Cooper spoke about the work that investigators would be doing at the blast site.

“They’re gonna be super-careful,” Cooper said, “and they’re gonna inspect everything and make sure that, you know, this is the only explosion that’s gonna happen in Nashville today.”

The 64-year-old Democrat, a Harvard-educated Nashville native who became the city’s mayor in September 2019, then let out a laugh before talking about broken water mains near the explosion site.

Have no fear guys, the worst mayor in the city of Nashville’s history showed up to laugh about the bombing. pic.twitter.com/zoA1aoWHaP

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 25, 2020

This chuckling clown @JohnCooper4Nash is hot on the case! #nashvilleexplosion pic.twitter.com/vI12aBqPJF

— Doug Harris (@Harris3Doug) December 25, 2020

The country music community is offering their support to the city and thanking the first responders, too. Brad Paisley posted a joint guitar performance with actor Kevin Nealon.

Tough year for Nashville.
Be safe everyone.#merrychristmas
Duet with @kevinnealon https://t.co/qouAbJU5ua

— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) December 26, 2020

Merry Christmas everyone! And a huge thank you to all the brave first responders in Nashville this morning. 🙏🏻❤️

— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) December 25, 2020

Our house shook here in Nashville. Following the info on socials and the news but just praying nobody was hurt. Seems like it was an explosion of some sort downtown. Fucking 2020 😔

— Cassadee Pope (@CassadeePope) December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas! Thinking of our beautiful hometown we love so much. We are beyond grateful to our first responders for your dedication and bravery. Our prayers and love are with all those serving our community. #NashvilleStrong

— Little Big Town (@littlebigtown) December 25, 2020

Sports teams offered words of encouragement and support, too. The Tennessee Titans play just east of downtown Nashville in Nissan Stadium. The Nashville Predators play its hockey games in Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville,

Praying for our city and the first responders on the scene of the explosion this morning.

Nashville has been through a lot this year. We'll bounce back together, stronger and tougher. #TennesseeTough

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 25, 2020

Thank you to the first responders and everyone helping our downtown friends and neighbors this morning. #NashvilleStrong

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) December 25, 2020

A motive is still being investigated. As I finish writing this post, I am reading a tweet from CBS News that police have a person or persons of interest.

…@CBSNews #EXCLUSIVE
CBS News has learned that #police have a person of interest or persons of interest in connection with the #explosion that rocked #Nashville on #ChristmasDay.

— Jeff Pegues (@jeffpeguescbs) December 26, 2020