Officials say arson caused fire that destroyed landmark Catholic church cruxnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cruxnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It took firefighters about 1 ½ hours to extinguish the flames. St. Leo the Great Church, an imposing stone house of worship in Philadelphia’s Tacony neighborhood, is being demolished by a wrecking ball, a day after a fire tore through the 135 year old structure.
Built in 1884, St. Leo had been a community landmark in Tacony for more than 135 years. It became a worship site in 2013 after merging with Our Lady of Consolation Parish and it permanently closed in January 2019, according to a report by the Northeast Times.
Fire crews still working putting out hot spots at St. Leo’s in Tacony.
@PhillyFireDept/Twitter The former St. Leo s Church, built in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia in 1884, was destroyed in a fire on May 9, 2021. Authorities believe the blaze was intentionally set and are investigating the case as act of arson.
The fire that gutted the historic St. Leo s Church in Northeast Philadelphia on Sunday appears to have been incendiary in nature, investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms said Thursday.
The agency is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction of anyone responsible for setting fire to the 135-year-old structure. Philadelphia police and the Philadelphia Fire Marshal s Office are assisting in the investigation.
Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced today that Cushmir McBride, 21, of Yeadon, PA, Kamar Thompson, 34, of Philadelphia, PA, and Nasser McFall, 22, of Claymont, Delaware, were charged by Indictment for their alleged involvement in four separate incidents in Fall 2020: the robberies of a Target and a Wawa, and attempts to rob two different Wawas, all with multiple explosive devices. McFall is also charged with setting off an explosive device at a bank in Philadelphia later that year. McBride and McFall were previously arrested and charged by Complaint, and Thompson is in federal custody facing charges in a separate case involving the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Each defendant is expected to be arraigned on these new charges next week.
Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced today that Cushmir McBride, 21, of Yeadon, PA, Kamar Thompson, 34, of Philadelphia, PA, and Nasser McFall, 22, of Claymont, Delaware, were charged by Indictment for their alleged involvement in four separate incidents in Fall 2020: the robberies of a Target and a Wawa, and attempts to rob two different Wawas, all with multiple explosive devices. McFall is also charged with setting off an explosive device at a bank in Philadelphia later that year. McBride and McFall were previously arrested and charged by Complaint, and Thompson is in federal custody facing charges in a separate case involving the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Each defendant is expected to be arraigned on these new charges next week.