NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia Police are searching for a teenager caught on camera putting a device in restaurant and walking away moments before it explodes.
It happened Wednesday night at 8:40 at Oriental Kitchen Takeout Restaurant on the 900 block of North 18th Street in North Philadelphia's Francisville section.
"I was very nervous. We didn't know what happened. We thought it was something inside," said Suyun Huang, owner.
Huang, her husband Yin Tao Lin and an uncle were behind the counter at the time.
They saw the young man, believed to be about 14, come in, but didn't know he had planted an explosive, until the powerful blast.
Huang believes they know the suspect from the neighborhood but they can't understand why they would be targeted.
"Yeah because we have a very good relationship with everybody in the neighborhood so we never thought something like this would happen," said Huang.
Neighbors heard the explosion. Some snapped photos of firefighters on the scene. They thought lightning might have caused the big boom.
"Because the whole area was lit up and it was a huge explosion, the building kind of shook," said Steve Croce, neighbor.
"Our bomb squad has informed me they believe it's a homemade device - maybe an M80 or M100 - an illegal device that has no other purpose than something like this. If someone walked in there, they could have been maimed or killed," said Lt. Pat Dougherty, Philadelphia Police.
Huang, who is 4-months pregnant, and her husband opened the restaurant Thursday despite all the damage and their fears it could happen again.
Police say that's exactly what police want to avoid.
They hope someone calls and turns the young suspect in or better yet, they'd like to see him surrender.
Anyone with information about this crime or this suspect is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Central Detective Division: Detective Koeing, Badge #716 at 215-686-3093/3094.
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO
Watch the unedited surveillance video from Philadelphia Police