A van filled with explosives and burglary tools was discovered Wednesday night in Center City Philadelphia, a city which experienced a third night of rioting and looting following the police shooting of a Black man who refused orders to disarm himself of a knife.
The van, located in Logan Square near the Franklin Institute and Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, contained propane tanks, torches and what appeared to be dynamite, local ABC affiliate WPVI reported.
Police were reportedly investigating but it was not disclosed who owned the van or if there were any arrests. WPVI also reported that later in the evening another ATM was blown up – along with a kiosk for the local metropolitan transit authority, SEPTA, bringing to at least 20 the number of cash dispensing machines that had been attacked over the three nights of riots.
Unidentified police sources told WPVI they believe the van discovered with the explosives could have been part of a looting operation.
Philadelphia Fox network affiliate WTXF reported agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also were on the scene.
At least 200 businesses in the city have been the target of rioters and looters, police said, triggered after a 27-year-old Black man was shot and killed by police Monday afternoon for approaching officers and refusing orders to drop a knife.
Thirty police officers were injured during the first night of riots and the Pennsylvania National Guard was deployed by Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday to help quell the violence.
A 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew was instituted Wednesday evening, but the looting continued for a third night, WPVI reported.
The SEPTA kiosk on Frankford Avenue in the northeast section of the city exploded at about 11:30 p.m. and the ATM near Einstein Medical Center in North Philadelphia was blown up about 12:15 a.m. Another ATM exploded in the northeast section around 1 a.m.
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