Bomb Used Against MOVE Radicals Spurs New Probe
Citing new evidence about the bomb dropped on the fortified home of the radical group MOVE, the district attorney is opening a criminal investigation into the police explosive that started a $10-million fire, killing 11.
Dist. Atty. Edward Rendell previously had refused to get involved because he saw “no evidence which would warrant investigation as to whether any criminal charges should be brought against” any city employee, his office said in a statement late Thursday.
But he changed his mind after a disclosure that the bomb dropped on May 13 contained the unauthorized military explosive C-4.
“For the first time, (it) raises the possibility that criminal wrongdoing may have occurred,” Rendell said in the statement.
Officials said that the bomb was intended to blow apart MOVE’s rooftop bunker and open a hole in the roof. It was dropped after a daylong standoff that developed when police officers tried to serve arrest warrants on four MOVE members and evict the group from the West Philadelphia house.
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