Summary
Highlights
The video opens with a participant recalling the vivid memory of the events. Police amassed around the Move compound, and a negotiation attempt through a screen door was met with the Move members' resolve to stand their ground. The Move members and children took shelter in the basement, the safest part of their home, as police prepared to serve warrants. The police planned a diversion by pouring water onto the roof bunker to obscure vision for insertion teams, which Move members in the basement felt as a constant deluge.
As police officers moved down an alley, shooting began, followed by tear gas deployment, which was reportedly not part of the initial plan. The rapid succession of gunfire made it difficult for police to determine the source. Police then strategized to breach a hole in an adjacent house to insert a 'pepper fogger' to drive Move members out the front door for surrender.
A witness describes hearing what they believed to be a .50 caliber machine gun, felt through the shaking floors. An explosion in the back of the house was later understood to be the police breaching a wall to insert the pepper fogger. The Move members had fortified their walls, hindering the fogger's effectiveness. Tear gas continued to be deployed, and a relentless hail of bullets followed, with police allegedly firing over 10,000 rounds in 90 minutes. Police officers in an adjacent house believed Move members were shooting through walls at them, forcing them to take refuge.
After a lull in hostilities, the police plan was deemed to have failed. A managing director recommended to the mayor the use of an explosive entry device, delivered by a state police helicopter, to blow a hole in the roof to insert gas and dislodge a bunker, which was seen as a danger. Concerns about the children's safety were dismissed, with the understanding that the procedure would be safe for them. There was no clear recollection among officials of being informed about gasoline stored on the roof.
Move residents recall being upstairs before the bomb was dropped, feeling the house shake as a 'big bomb went off'. They soon realized the house was on fire, filling with smoke. The fire commissioner was asked if the roof could be allowed to burn to get rid of the bunker while still being able to control the fire, a request he believed was manageable at the time. However, due to lack of access, the fire spread rapidly to other homes on the block. Witnesses describe the intense heat and the popping glass from the fire, making it indistinguishable from gunshots.
With flames engulfing the house, witnesses believed no one could survive. Move members, including children, attempted to escape, yelling that they were coming out. However, officers claim they saw a male with a rifle, and subsequent shooting forced those attempting to exit back into the burning building. Ramona Africa describes repeated attempts to escape, only to be met with gunfire. In a chaotic scene, Ramona, Birdy, and others tried to get out. An officer intervened to prevent another officer from going to rescue Birdy, fearing it was a trap. Eventually, Birdy was rescued, and his first words were, 'Don't shoot me.' The video concludes with officers denying firing their weapons after the bomb and reflecting on the daily impact of the events.