MOVE bombing at 6221 Osage Avenue

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped an incendiary device on a fortified rowhouse occupied by the MOVE organization at 6221 Osage Avenue, igniting a fire that destroyed 61 homes and killed 11 people, including five children. The decision to use explosives and the ensuing fire prompted city, state, and federal investigations and widespread criticism of city leadership and police tactics. A city commission later found the police and fire departments' actions to be reckless, and the event remains a major point of contention in Philadelphia's history of police-community relations. Several memorials and ongoing calls for accountability and reparations continue to mark the site and its legacy.