An abandoned van filled with explosives was found by law enforcement in Philadelphia Wednesday night, as the City of Brotherly Love has been gripped by racial tension following the fatal police shooting of a black man earlier this week.
Police were on the scene on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where the van, which was filled with propane tanks, torches, and possible dynamite sticks, was left, around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, according to ABC6. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the bomb squad were called to the scene to investigate as well.
The police have not announced any arrests related to the van, nor did they announce the owner of the vehicle.
The investigation comes amid a time of racial tension and clashes between Philadelphia residents and police following the death of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr., a black man who was shot and killed by law enforcement officials on Monday afternoon. Police had been called to Wallace Jr.’s residence twice earlier that day, and his family reported that he suffered from mental illness and was in crisis at the time they arrived the third time.
He was holding a knife and walking toward police, not listening to their instructions to drop the weapon when they opened fire on him. Neither officer had a taser in their possession at the time of the shooting, according to CNN.
On Monday night, hours after Wallace Jr. died, Philadelphians took to the streets to protest the deadly use of force, and things turned violent. Thirty officers were injured that night alone, most of them minor injuries, but one law enforcement official sustained a broken leg, among other injuries, after she was hit by a pickup truck.
The Pennsylvania National Guard assembled members to assist in putting down the riots that have stretched throughout at least seven city districts. Videos from the city have shown hundreds of people looting goods at a number of businesses and facing off with police officers.
