The 1985 MOVE Bombing: Unseen Photos of Philadelphia’s Tragedy
The tense standoff with the radical MOVE group tragically escalated into a full-scale assault, culminating in a bomb being dropped on a residential Philadelphia neighborhood.
MOVE, officially the ‘Christian Movement for Life,’ was founded in 1972 by John Africa (born Vincent Leaphart), advocating a philosophy of anti-materialism, natural living, and animal protection.
Thick smoke billows ominously from the rapidly spreading fire in the wake of the devastating bombing.
A stark view of the three city blocks utterly destroyed by the raging inferno after the bombing.
On the fateful morning of May 13, police arrived armed with arrest warrants for four MOVE members, but negotiations quickly faltered and never gained traction.
The powerful detonation not only tore through the MOVE compound but also ignited a massive, uncontrollable fire. Firefighters, citing fears of MOVE gunfire, were controversially ordered not to intervene.
A stunned crowd watches in horror as an entire row of buildings goes up in flames in Philadelphia, following the tragic May 13, 1985 bombing.
A decade later, in 1996, a federal jury found the city liable, ordering Philadelphia to pay $1.5 million in damages to survivor Ramona Africa and relatives of two victims for excessive force and constitutional violations.
Dozens of houses continue to smolder and collapse the day after the devastating bombing, a grim testament to the destruction.
Aerial view showing the vast extent of the devastation on Osage Avenue after the 1985 MOVE bombing.
Police officers carefully navigate the rubble-strewn streets of the destroyed neighborhood, the day after the tragic bombing.
Solemn police officers patrol the devastated residential area, surveying the extensive damage a day after the bombing.
Police and emergency crews survey the charred remains of homes in West Philadelphia, day after the bombing.
Smoke-filled skies over the ravaged neighborhood, hours after the controversial police operation.
A close-up view of the structural damage to homes caused by the explosive device and subsequent fire.
A firefighter stands amidst the ruins, unable to intervene as the fire consumed the neighborhood.
Residents and onlookers gather behind barricades, witnessing the tragic unfolding of events.
The somber scene of destruction, with only skeletons of houses remaining after the MOVE bombing.
An unprecedented urban tragedy: the aftermath of the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia.
Mourners gather solemnly in front of the former MOVE headquarters, as the funeral procession for founder John Africa makes its way past.
