Federal prosecutors have indicted three men with setting off homemade explosives in a Target store, as well as multiple Wawas, during civil unrest in Philadelphia last year.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said Cushmir McBride, 21; Kamar Thompson, 34; and Nasser McFall, 22; hatched a plan to rob a Target in Port Richmond and then went on to set off three more bombs at Wawas in Philadelphia and Claymont, Delaware. They took advantage of unrest in Philadelphia after police shot to death Walter Wallace Jr., Williams said.
The trio first set off explosives at the Target on October 28, 2020, blowing up an ATM and then stealing the cash, according to prosecutors. They did the same thing the next day at a Port Richmond Wawa, before attempting two more robberies by setting off explosives at another Philadelphia Wawa and then one in Claymont, authorities said.
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“If you engage in violence and commit a federal crime during periods of civil unrest hoping the turbulence will afford you some cover, rest assured that it will not. As this Indictment shows, we will find you, charge you, and you will face the consequences of your actions in federal court,” Williams said in a statement.
McFall is also charged with setting off an explosive device in an ATM at a Philadelphia Wells Fargo in December.
Each of the men faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted.
