The Philadelphia Police Department is looking for at least three teenagers who are suspected of trying to ignite dynamite sticks inside a store.
According to Fox 9, the incident happened on June 20 around 5:10 p.m. at the Fresh Grocer, which is located on the 5300 block of Chew Avenue in the city’s Germantown neighborhood.
According to local reports, a security guard alerted the police after observing adolescents bringing “light sticks of dynamite inside the store” and being between the ages of 16 and 19. The amount of explosives the police think the youngsters possessed has not yet been disclosed. Although an explosive was found on the site by the bomb squad, the suspects managed to get away before the police arrived.
The number of customers inside the establishment at the time of the incident is unknown. No recorded bodily harm occurred.
The object turned out to be an unauthorized improvised explosive device (IED). The IED was allegedly put inside an ATM’s money slot by the suspects, who then tried to light the fuse. According to authorities, the suspects left the business after the fuse failed to fire.
The explosive device had a three-inch fuse and was six inches long and one inch in diameter. The item was taken out of the ATM and placed in a secure container before the bomb squad arrived on the site.
