In 1981 MOVE relocated to a
row house at 6221 Osage Avenue in the
Cobbs Creek area of West Philadelphia. After the move, neighbors complained for years that MOVE members were broadcasting political messages by
bullhorn.
[15] However, the bullhorn was broken and inoperable for the three weeks prior to the bombing of the row house.
[15]
The police obtained
arrest warrants charging four occupants with crimes including
parole violations,
contempt of court,
illegal possession of firearms, and making
terrorist threats.
[1] Mayor
W. Wilson Goode and police commissioner Gregore J. Sambor classified MOVE as a terrorist organization.
[16] On Monday, May 13, 1985, the police, along with city manager
Leo Brooks, arrived in force and attempted to clear the building and execute the arrest warrants.
[16] This led to an armed
standoff with police,
[17] who lobbed
tear gas canisters at the building. The police said that MOVE members fired at them; a gunfight with
semi-automatic and
automatic firearms ensued.
[18] Commissioner Sambor then ordered that the compound be bombed.
[18] From a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter,
Philadelphia Police Department Lt. Frank Powell proceeded to drop two one-pound bombs made of C4 explosive (which the police referred to as "entry devices"
[16]) made of FBI-supplied
water gel explosive, a
dynamite substitute, targeting a fortified, bunker-like cubicle on the roof of the house.
[19]
The resulting explosions ignited a fire from fuel for a gasoline-powered generator in rooftop bunker that eventually destroyed approximately 65 nearby houses. The firefighters, who had earlier
deluge-hosed the MOVE members in a failed attempt to evict them from the building, stood by as the fire caused by the bomb engulfed the first house and spread to others, having been given orders to let the fire burn. Despite the earlier drenching of the building by firefighters, officials said that they feared that MOVE would shoot at the firefighters.
[6][18][19][20] Eleven people (John Africa, five other adults and five children aged 7 to 13) died in the resulting fire and more than 250 people were left homeless.
[21] Ramona Africa, one of the two survivors, stated that police fired at those trying to escape.
[22]