Sunday, a pipe bomb was discovered in the Holmesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia.
According to WTXF-TV, the device was discovered behind St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in the 8500 block of Frankford Avenue.
According to Newsweek, railroad tracks also run behind the chapel.
The length of the pipe bomb was around 18 inches, according to WTXF.
🚨#BREAKING: Police have discovered a 18-inch pipe bomb on Train Tracks
📌#Philadelphia | #PA
Multiple Law enforcement have responded after a 18-inch pipe bomb that is capped at both ends was disconnected on the Train Tracks in Frankford PA and have been reported to have burn… https://t.co/Pgll7wRG78 pic.twitter.com/NveqHoOegU
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 19, 2023
According to police, a bystander discovered the explosive and informed authorities.
The bomb was a PVC pipe with both ends sealed with caps. The police stated that it looked to contain black magic.
The Bomb Squad of the Philadelphia Police Department responded and barricaded the road near the church.
WPVI-TV reports that the pipe bomb was carried back to police headquarters.
There was no official theory on the placement of the pipe bomb. Two significant, though dissimilar, viewpoints arose.
Many social media posts, as reported by Newsweek, speculated on a possible relation or copycat to the Ohio train crash that caused a poisonous cloud over East Palestine, Ohio earlier this month.
"18-inch pipe bomb" found in Philadelphia, behind church, near railway track.
Behind the church is the railway overpass of Pennypack Creek. If the purpose of this bomb was a derailment, it could have caused yet another environmental disaster. pic.twitter.com/vU3kLUYGZf
— Michael Ferrari (@xMichaelFerrari) February 19, 2023
Can previous train derailments in past 2 weeks including the one in Ohio might be some terrorist activities?👇👇👇 https://t.co/YSi9XIGYl4
— AYDOGAN VATANDAS (@aydogan29) February 20, 2023
Nothing to see here folks, just a pipe bomb found on the railroad tracks in Philadelphia, our country’s infrastructure is totally not under attack by the foreign powers that control our government at all…https://t.co/QTIIyzImKC https://t.co/YmFsgOuRMS
— Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸 (@iheartmindy) February 19, 2023
An 18-inch pipe bomb was found behind St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Holmesburg, Philadelphia. Since the rumored & subsequent overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, Catholic churches have been increasingly targeted across the U.S. https://t.co/XPEk5rNZRo
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) February 19, 2023
On the website Catholic Culture, it is said that there have been almost 250 instances of violence at Catholic sites in the United States during the previous three years.
The Daily Wire said that the discovery of the pipe bomb occurred one day after the murder of David O’Connell, an auxiliary bishop of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.