A violent night in Philadelphia left two men hospitalized and another dead in two separate shooting incidents overnight.

Police were called to the 400 block of Howell Street in the Lawncrest section of the city around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to investigate a man shot. When officer arrived they heard from neighbors that two people were actually shot during an apparent would-be robbery, said police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

“Both victims were transported to Einstein Hospital by private auto,” Small said.

A 23-year-old man remained in critical condition Tuesday morning after being shot in the head and at least twice in the torso. A 19-year-old was in stable condition after being shot in the leg, Small said.

Both men were expected to survive, police said.

It appears that the men were shot during a shootout after another man tried to rob them, Small said.

“Based on ballistic evidence on the scene we know that at least six shots were fired by two separate caliber semi-automatic weapons,” Small said.

Small said that one of the victims told police that a man in a hooded sweatshirt approached the duo as they stood on the front steps of a home and announced a robbery.

Investigators say they found a semi-automatic gun in a trash bag next to that home.

It’s unclear who had the second gun. It also wasn't clear if the suspect took anything from the victims.

A short time later, a man was shot and killed along the 2400 block of Sharswood Street in the city’s Brewerytown neighborhood. Investigators didn’t give a motive for the shooting.

None of the shooting victims were identified.

A boy is fighting for his life after being hit by a freight train this morning.

The unidentified 11-year-old was hit by a 24-car, three-engine CSX train this morning around 7:45 a.m. near where the tracks cross over Main and N 6th Streets in Darby Borough, Pa., according to Borough police.

The boy was taken to the hospital where he remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.

CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said the freight train was traveling from North Bergen, N.J. to Jacksonville, Fla. when it came to a halt.

Police say it appeared the boy was walking with family members when he pulled away and for some reason went towards the tracks.

The incident remains under investigation.

SEPTA’s Route 11 trolley stops near where the crash happened. SEPTA shuttled trolley passengers by bus between Island Avenue and Darby Loop as crews investigated the incident for a few hours.

Main Street was also closed during the investigation.

Click here for more news from around the region.

A freshly laundered shirt, covered in plastic, flaps in the wind as it takes flight from in front of Manayunk Cleaners in Philadelphia.

It wasn’t picked up by a breeze, though, rather a remote-controlled drone, which ferries the shirt across the sky on a delivery run to a nearby customer.

“I’m all about technology and I see a lot of these cleaners, it’s so old school. You come in…and you just pick it up. I needed to spice things up,” says Manayunk Cleaners owner Harout Vartanian.

The 24-year-old, who’s trying to attract a young clientele at his Main Street shop that opened last September, converted a four-bladed DJI Phantom quadracopter, designed for taking aerial photography, into a dry cleaning delivery machine.

“We fly it to your house, it makes a noise, you pick it up and that’s that,” Vartanian says. “We posted a video to YouTube and it went viral. And ever since then, people have been asking ‘Hey, can you deliver my clothes by drone?’”

It takes two people -- a spotter and pilot -- to complete a delivery. The drone is launched from the sidewalk and once airborne, the clothes are attached to a makeshift hanging clip. Then, with clothes securely attached, the drone heads for its destination. But since the drone is small, it’s limited in how far it can go and much can be delivered in one trip.

“Right now, this particular model can only carry one to two pounds,” Vartanian said. He says that equates to a shirt or two. “There’s a higher-end model that we haven’t purchased yet, but obviously in the future that’s what we’re going to use. It carries around 5-10 pounds.”

So far they’ve focused the drone deliveries on customers from nearby businesses to log some flight hours, according to Vartanian.

Tim Nedzwecky had clean towels for his dog grooming business, The Groom Room, flown over. He calls the service “awesome.” Asked whether he’s concerned the towels might get dirty on their flight, Nedzwecky says no.

“I think that if something happens, they’ll fix it,” Nedzwecky said.

Next, Vartanian says they’ll randomly select one customer a month to have their clothes delivered by air for free. Then he hopes to expand the program and deploy a fleet of drones to deliver clothes to all customers.

While the drone deliveries are not exactly practical, they do get attention.

People often stop to look at the device flying high over Main Street, sometimes nearly a dozen at a time.

“It’s pretty crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was wondering what the hell that was, to be honest,” said Trish Pasquarello. The 24-year-old said she’d try drone delivery because it would be easier than having to carry her clothes.

“It’s just something fun to watch,” says Bruce Cook. The contractor, who’s working on a project across the street from the cleaners, said he’s been watching the drone test flights for some time.

“It’s a novelty, it’s pretty cool, it’s cute, all that, but it’s not practical,” he said. “What would have been better, would have been if there had been a tractor-trailer coming down and met it.”

The use of drones in the American skies has been a hot topic of debate, as of late. Currently, drone use by commercial operators falls into a grey area. The Federal Aviation Administration bars people or businesses for operating a drone – or as they call them, Unmanned Aircraft Systems -- for compensation or hire.

The FAA also requires operators to obtain an airworthiness certificate to operate a drone. But that  may change. Congress has required the FAA to develop guidelines for commercial drone use by 2015. The guidelines would give businesses a way to use drones for profit.

Vartanian doesn't think his drone falls under the FAA guidelines. He insists it's “just a toy” and is being used as a way to promote his business.

“It’s amazing. It’s something new, it’s definitely a step towards the future," he said. "[Customers] have never seen anything like this and hopefully they’ll get used to it because that's what we’ll plan on doing.”

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

A woman is accused of running down her boyfriend outside a store she was already banned from before attacking him with a bottle of window cleaner and standing over him with a box cutter.

New Castle City Police say they responded to the BJ’s on Sunset Boulevard around 2:30 p.m. Monday for the report of a domestic incident between a man and a woman.

Police say they found Adrienne Dorman, 21, of the 500 block S Dupont Highway standing over her 21-year-old boyfriend with a box cutter in her hand.

BJ’s staff told officers that Dorman had already been banned form the store because of previous fights with her boyfriend.

The duo got into a fight in the parking lot this time over a cell phone. Witnesses told police Dorman intentionally struck her boyfriend with her car, sending him airborne. As the man lay on the ground, Dorman allegedly sprayed him in the face with Windex and began to go through his pockets.

Police officers said they found her standing over the victim with the open box cutter. Officers were able to disarm Dorman and take her into custody. She was charged with second-degree assault, trespassing and related charges and released on $10,4000 unsecured bond.

She was also ordered to have no contact with the victim and ordered not to drive a car.

Her boyfriend was treated at a local hospital for leg injuries.

It's a busy day every day at the Abington Free Library. Teachers, students and families check out books and browse the Internet. It's common to see tutors instructing students and senior volunteers occupying the tables. 

Last Tuesday, the library had 1,900 visitors in a day.

"We are a public building, like a mall," said library director Nancy Hammeke Marshall. "With more visitors, tempers are shorter than they used to be."

Last week, a book that someone damaged was found in the men's bathroom. Over the past year, the cars belonging to library workers have been vandalized and library staff has experienced a number of argumentative visitors. Incidents like these have prompted Marshall to ask for surveillance cameras to be installed inside the library.

"The library is a safe place to be 99 percent of the time. People are courteous and wonderful. We're just covering our bases," said Marshall.

After 18 years as the library director, Marshall says she has seen it all. She underscores that while the disruptive patrons are small in number, the cameras would help protect the staff, the library's contents and the majority of visitors who use the library -- people like Devin Sweeney and her children.

"I don't know what I'd do without the library," said Sweeney, a teacher who lives in the township.

Sweeney uses the library as a go-to activity to get her two small children out of the house. They get tired of the sprinkler and water balloons, she says. Her daughter Rose has a teen reading buddy as part of the Abington Reads program. 

"I love reading," said Rose Sweeney, 6.

North Penn High School teacher Jonathan Rockey also frequents the Abington Free Library.

"Every once and a while there's a weird confrontation," said Rockey. "I'm not opposed to the cameras because it's kinda sad that you to resort to it. That seems to be a trend in public life."

Shameka Bowser comes here to work on her resume and study for the final portion of her dental hygienist exam. 

"I've never felt unsafe, but you do live in a world where you have to worry about what people will do," said Bowser. "You can't even go to the movies anymore."

Marshall's surveillance camera request went to township manager Michael LeFevre who passed it along for consideration. The Abington Public Affairs Committee, a sub-committee of the Board of Commissioners, discussed and approved the proposal during their committee meeting last week.

"It's not a done deal, so to speak," said Peggy Myers, president of the Abington Board of Commissioners. 

The proposal will go before the entire Commissioners Board at its next meeting this Thursday. 

"We don't have a problem approving it, but we need more information about what we are approving it for and the magnitude of the problem," said Commissioner Wayne Luker. 

Luker said he also needs to understand more about who is covering the estimated $10,000 cost.

According to Myers, the money would come from Abington Township's contingency fund. Each year, the township allocates a portion of its budget to cover unanticipated expenses.

Marshall plans to contact other libraries in the Commonwealth to acquire their best practices on video surveillance as the Abington Free Library develops and finalizes its plan.

A few weeks ago, the entire 45 member staff went through active shooter training. With a growing emphasis placed on safety at the library, for supporters of the idea, adding surveillance cameras seems to make a lot of sense.

"The feeling was, with the world we live in, this was a necessary move. I was surprised we didn't already have them," said Myers.

Amazingly no one was hurt today after a car crashed right into the checkout area of a local convenience store.

Atlantic City Police were called to the 7-Eleven store at Pacific and S New York Avenues just after noon Tuesday.

A black Toyota Camry crashed right through the front window of the store next to where the clerk stands. Debris including what appears to be a lottery machine; cigarette ads and a large counter were all pushed back into the store.

The driver wasn’t identified and it wasn’t clear what caused him or her to crash.

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When Katy Matich first moved to Philadelphia from Minnesota in 2008, she noticed a definite difference in the way men approached women in public places.

“Where I grew up, and where I went to school for undergrad, and just my experience in metropolitan cities in Minnesota, the culture was very different with how men treated women," Matich said.

“Actually, here I could identify it as harassment; it was actually more clearly defined. It wasn’t just somebody being playful or just trying to pick you up, this was like clearly more aggressive than I was used to and much more verbally harassing than what I experienced before.”

Matich may have never known that what she was experiencing here in Philadelphia, a variation of whistles, honks, kissing noises, vulgar gestures, flashing or sexually-charged comments, was something called street harassment if it weren’t for an organization called Hollaback.

Street harassment is generally defined by anti-harassment groups as an action or comment by a stranger in a public place that is disrespectful or threatening, and is generally motivated by gender.

Hollaback is a national non-profit founded in 2005 by seven New York City women who were prompted to discuss their own encounters with street harassment. The organization's mission is to help people better understanding what street harassment is and to develop new strategies so women don't feel harassed or intimidated in public spaces.

Hollaback boasts it has trained over 200 leaders in 62 cities and 25 countries to join the anti-street harassment movement since 2011.

Rochelle Keyhan is the director of the local chapter of Hollaback here in Philadelphia, which she started in 2011. HollabackPHILLY garnered a mass of press and citizen support in April of this year when it launched a series of eye-catching advertisements that were displayed on SEPTA buses and trains. Keyhan says the success of the ad campaign helped with many goals that the chapter hopes to accomplish in the future.

“Our shorter-term goals were sort of to just get the conversation started in the city. When the SEPTA ads came out, we sort of did that on another level,” she said. “Now we’re moving on from that step because we have obtained that goal of the definition shift and conversation. Now it’s an engagement shift, where we’re trying to get people more actively involved in speaking up about street harassment; even if they’re uncomfortable in the moment, to report it on the site so we can document the frequency, the severity, where it’s happening, how it’s happening, what time of day it’s happening. That would give us more information to then meet our goal of policy change, where we want to engage City Council to think of creative ways to improve the way we interact with people in public.”

According to Keyhan, two of the organization’s biggest resources are its web site and its engagement on social media. The Hollaback web site allows victims of street harassment to share their stories and provides an array of resources including methods for self-defense, as well as information on how bystanders can intervene if they witness street harassment.

Matich says she first learned of HollabackPHILLY through a posting on Facebook. Laura Jill Steinig, 39, found out about the organization via a tweet.

“I’ve been dealing with cat calls and stares, kissing noises from cars and guys on the street trying to ask me out  -- I use that term in quotation marks -- for my entire life,” she said.

Steinig said the information on Hollaback’s web taught her how to stand up for herself.

“What I love about their site is that it made me feel not alone. On the Hollaback site, they have this wonderful page full of strategies of how to respond. Now when I’m walking down the street and there is a construction zone, and someone’s going to say something to me I can get in my head, like here’s what I’m going to say if they say something.”

HollabackPHILLY’s next major project is a comic book, HOLLABACK: RED, YELLOW, BLUE, which will be used for educational workshops on street harassment and bystander intervention.

“The comic book is a pretty thorough introduction to the issue. It’s an engaging and non-aggressive way to get people more aware of street harassment," Keyhan said. "So we can hand them a comic book, and it’s visually appealing, and it allows people to digest and process all of the issues in the comic book on their own time instead of having to do it right then while a person is talking to them.”

The comic book will be available for sale in local comic book stores in Center City and West Philadelphia, as well as on the web site by the end of July.

Keyhan says HollabackPHILLY also hopes to partner with the Philadelphia School District to teach awareness of street harassment to students as part of sex education classes.

A fisherman was hit by lightning this afternoon at Island Beach State Park along the Jersey Shore.

He was in the process of leaving the beach around 1:15 p.m. when lightning hit his fishing rod, according to New Jersey State Police.

"It appears that the rod was struck and transferred the energy through his body, through his hand and out his feet," said park manager Ray Bukowski.

The victim, a 48-year-old man from Berkeley Township, Ocean County, N.J., is alive and was conscious when emergency crews took him to the hospital.

"As he was leaving in the ambulance, he was responsive and interactive with everyone," Bukowski said.

He complained of tingling and numbness in his legs, according to police.

At the time of the strike, no lifeguards were in that area of the park, which sits between Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and Seaside Park. A park employee was clearing the beach when the storm rolled in.

The victim is being treated at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and is currently in stable condition.

So far this year, nine people have died from lightning strikes across the country, according to the National Weather Service. Three of the fatalities were men who were fishing when they were struck.

July is the deadliest month for lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

On the safety side, the NWS warns there is no place outside that is considered safe during a thunderstorm. Their motto is, "When Thunder Roars Go Indoors!"

Once you are inside, stay off of corded phones, computers and electrical equipment that could put you in direct contact with electricity. Stay away from water, windows, doors and porches as well as concrete surfaces. You should stay inside of a safe shelter for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.

If you get caught outside during a thunderstorm and there is no way for you to get to a safe place, you may be able to reduce your risk by getting out of or away from any bodies of water and getting down from elevated areas like hills or peaks. The NWS also warn people to never never take shelter under an isolated tree or lie flat on the ground during a thunderstorm.

Police are on the hunt for a thief or thieves who they say stole money and a beloved gecko from a wildlife rescue center in Bear, Delaware.

Hilary Taylor, who runs the Delaware Wildlife Rehabilitators Association in her backyard, says the gecko was stolen between 9 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday.

“We tore the hospital apart and I couldn’t find him loose in there,” she said. “We couldn’t find him so I called 911.”

Taylor also says someone stole a donation box filled with cash. 

Upon hearing the news, neighbors quickly came to Taylor’s aid and donated money.

“It’s just a shame,” Lisa Mantegna said. “You know somebody that does something good. She shouldn’t have to go through something like this.”

Taylor takes in and helps rehabilitate about 1,000 animals every year, including foxes, squirrels, rabbits turtles and raccoons. Part of the money used to run the center comes from Hilary and her husband. The other part comes from the stolen donation box. 

“It’s so said that someone wants to steal from people who aren’t paid,” Taylor said “People who do this out of their homes.”

Hillary says she nursed the stolen gecko back to good health twice before after the SPCA took it from its owners who were mistreating him.

The stolen gecko is brown and about 5 inches long. Taylor also says its fat tail and markings make it look like it has heads at both ends.

The gecko needs to be fed live crickets, meal worms, vitamins and calcium. Without exactly the needed care, she said it will die.

Delaware State Police say anyone with information about the missing animal should contact troopers.
 

An eastern Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to three to six years in state prison in the death of a man authorities said was left tied to a tree for nearly a day last year.

A Schuylkill County judge on Tuesday approved a plea agreement for 26-year-old Daniel Dull of Orwigsburg, the (Pottsville) Republican-Herald said.

Authorities alleged that Dull and 49-year-old Keith Reber, who suspected Smith of stealing from his girlfriend, took 26-year-old Bryan Smith to a secluded area in South Manheim Township in May 2012 and bound him to a tree. State police said Smith, who was also gagged, was left in the wooded area for about 20 hours in hot and humid weather, and Reber later returned and found him dead with his face in the dirt.

Reber was convicted last month of involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and conspiracy but acquitted of first-, second- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and two counts of simple assault.

Dull's mother, Margaret Gradwell, called her son ``a caring, loving person who is too trusting.''

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It’s a creepy, crawly nightmare for residents in a Kensington community. Those who live on the 2100 block of Stella Street say their community is overrun by insects and that the city hasn't done anything about it.

Valerie Rodriguez says fleas, ticks and mosquitoes have infested her street to the point in which she and her neighbors don’t even want to go outside.

“You can’t even sit on your porch and drink a cup of coffee without fleas jumping on you,” she said.

Rodriguez’s two-year-old daughter is covered with insect bites.

“It’s really, really terrible,” Rodriguez said. “My daughter at two-years-old shouldn’t have marks like this all over her body.”

“As soon as I step out the door, I had five on my one leg,” John Russell said. “I turn around and I had five or six on the other leg.”

Neighbors say the problem stems from four vacant homes on their block overrun with the bloodsucking insects. They claim they’ve called the Health Department and Licenses and Inspections but haven’t heard back from them.

“Everybody’s called the city,” said Russell. “We had ten, eleven people calling constantly.”

A spokesperson for the Health Department says that Pennsylvania State Law prohibits them from treating neighborhood properties and that the owners are responsible. However, at least two of the vacant properties believed to be the center of the infestation are now deceased. Residents say relatives of the owners have stopped by but have done nothing about the insects.

With no answers from the city, the residents have taken matters into their own hands, placing pesticides on the doors and windows of their homes as well as the four vacant properties, spraying everywhere they can.

“This is all we can really do,” Othet Smith said. “We’ve been trying to get the city and they don’t do nothing. If I don’t help out, who’s going to help out?”

Shortly before 6 p.m., an L&I spokeswoman responded to NBC10. She says L&I officials will open an investigation on three of the four properties, located on 2139, 2136 and 2140 Stella Street.

Anyone who has a complaint about a property should call 311 first. They can track the request on the L&I website. L&I officials also insist that it's not their responsiblity or the city's to mantain a home but rather the owner of the property.



 

A Philadelphia man is behind bars after he allegedly left his son inside a car while gambling.

On Saturday, police say Danny Ngo, 44, drove to the Parx Casino with his 18-month-old son. Ngo allegedly went inside the casino and left his son inside the car while the temperature outside was nearly 90 degrees.

Investigators say a woman walking by the vehicle heard the baby crying and immediately called 911. Responding police officers say they had to force their way inside Ngo’s car, a gray Lexus, in order to get to the young boy.

Officers with the Bensalem Police and the Parx Casino gathered around the car. Police say Ngo was inside the casino for about 40 minutes before leaving. When he returned to his car, police were there to arrest him, according to investigators.

Ngo is charged with recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child. He was sent to the Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $100,000.
 

Police are on the hunt for a man caught on surveillance video robbing a woman on a SEPTA bus.

Verna Void, 57, says she was on her way to get treatment for skin cancer back on June 12 and boarded a SEPTA route 38 bus. As the bus stopped at Broad and Chestnut Streets, police say a man who was sitting behind the woman got up to leave. As he exited the bus, the man snatched Void’s gold chain and cross from her neck and fled the bus on foot.

"I was just minding my own business and he just reached over," she said. "He ripped it off my neck."

Void suffered a laceration on her neck due to the chain snatching. She says her injury required extra care since there was concern it could exacerbate her skin cancer.

"It was so traumatic to me that he did that and the fact that I have this condition," Void said. "I had to go to the doctor." 

Void also says the stolen chain and cross are particularly meaningful to her because they were the only things she had left from her child’s father who died last year. She says she wore the chain for more than 30 years.

Credit: Philadelphia Police

The suspect is described as a thin, dark skinned male with a thin goatee standing between 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-1. Police also say he was wearing a black Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap, a dark blue t-shirt with a Nike logo on the front and dark-colored shorts.

"He assaulted me as far as I'm concerned," Void said. "I hope they catch him." 

If you have any information on this theft, please call Philadelphia Police.

When the Phillies acquired Ben Revere in the off-season, there was a mild amount of rejoicing in Philadelphia, because his arrival signaled the beginning of what many hope is ultimately Ruben Amaro's mission statement for the foreseeable future: get younger.

The speedy outfielder, who turned 25 in May, was had for in exchange of Vance Worley (who got demoted to AAA after getting wrecked in 10 MLB starts) and Trevor May, a pitching prospect who hasn't quite blossomed like the Phillies had hoped. It was a fair price to pay for Revere, who is young, cost-effective, and most importantly, talented. What he lacks in power he makes up for in plate discipline, bat control, speed, and defense. With Jimmy Rollins on his way out, Revere was the obvious heir to the leadoff throne.

For all the fanfare, Revere didn't do himself any favors early in the season, thanks to an April that saw him hit .200 with one extra base hit in 90 at-bats. His on-base percentage was a disappointing .234. He stole all of five bases, which makes a lot of sense actually, because it's hard to steal bases when you can't get on base to begin with. In short, he wasn't off to a good start in Philly, which led to him losing playing time in favor of John Mayberry. It was a bad start to what was supposed to be a new era in Philly.

Thankfully, Revere put his April doldrums behind him, and has been a resurgent hitter for the Phillies ever since. He hit .312 during May, .354 during June, and through seven games in July, has a .387 batting average. Since May 1, he has a .343/.379/.406 line, with nine doubles two triples, and 16 stolen bases in 61 games, to bring his season line up to .300/.335/.350. While he's not hitting for power, Revere is doing what we all expected him to do by getting on base at the top of the lineup.

A big reason for that, to be frank, is luck. Since May 1, Revere is sporting a .380 BABIP, or batting average on balls in play. Without going too much into detail, most hitters will have a BABIP of around .300, meaning that 30% of balls that they put in play will fall for a hit. It's not an exact science, but it's a decent yardstick for determining whether or not a hitter is getting by on bloops and seeing-eye singles, or whether they are getting robbed by the opposing defense. Someone like Miguel Cabrera, for instance, is likely to have a higher-than-average BABIP thanks to his ability to hit line drives with reckless abandon, as hard-hit balls fall for hits at a higher rate.

But Revere, who is not a power hitter like Cabrera, has certainly been affected by luck this season, for better or for worse. During his April slump, his BABIP was .237, well below average. In May, it was .353. In June, .393. This month? .400. In other words, he's been on the right side of luck for the last two plus months. Does that mean that he's not really a .300 hitter? Of course not, but he's certainly riding a really fortunate streak right now. That's partially a bi-product of luck, but it's also the result of Revere seeing the ball really, really well. If you watch him in the box, it's pretty clear that he is locked in. He is using all fields, he is making solid contact, and he's using his most valuable asset – his speed – to turn outs into hits.

Whether or not he can keep this up the rest of the way, one thing is clear: he has been a blast to watch. While most of the offense has been hit-or-miss, Revere has been a joy to watch in the box as of late. He's doing exactly what we all thought he would do when the Phillies traded for him in the winter. Now, let's just hope it lasts.

Police are searching for the thief responsible for stealing thousands of dollars worth of wedding gifts from a wedding reception in Montgomery County.

Investigators say a bride was moving wedding gifts from a gift table during her reception at the William Penn Inn in Lower Gwynedd Township Saturday night. The bride placed the gifts, held inside a bird cage, into the backseat of her car. When the bride and groom returned to their vehicle however, the bird cage was gone along with the cards containing thousands of dollars in checks and cash.

Police reviewed surveillance video and now say they have a person of interest in the case. Police say the man was spotted wearing a green shirt and cargo-type shorts. They also say he may have fled the area in a gray Mazda 3.

At this point, police say, the man is only considered a person of interest, not a suspect.

If you have any information on this incident, please call the Lower Gwynedd Township Police Department at (215) 646-5300.

 

Marlena Tocco has always had a special connection to the Cherry Hill Pathmark. Not only has Tocco shopped at the supermarket all her life, but her mother has worked at the store for 16 years. That’s why both were shocked when they learned that the neighborhood institution will be closing permanently.

“She was shocked,” Marlena said. “She got a voicemail and she was like, ‘Oh my God!’”

The Cherry Hill location is one of the three Pathmark stores that are set to close in September, laying off hundreds of workers, including Tocco’s mother. The Pathmark workers Union President says the stores are closing in Cherry Hill, Camden and Edgewater because they aren’t profitable. The closures will leave at least 228 workers jobless.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” said Sam Ferraino, president of Local 1360. “I knew they weren’t doing well but I didn’t expect them to pull the plug on these stores.”

But shoppers and employees at Pathmark won’t be the only ones affected by the closures. The loss of the three stores means less competition at stores like Wegmans and ShopRite and also the potential for higher prices.

“The scary part is, you worry that if too many chains go, people won’t have any choices,” Ferraino said.

NBC10 tried to contact representatives from Pathmark but have not yet received a response. Meanwhile customers who made the stores part of their weekly ritual are preparing to make a big adjustment.

“You come here once a week,” said Richard Hurley. “You meet these people. You know them all by name, Diane, Bill.”

The Pathmark locations will close in 60 days, according to Union officials.

 

A longtime South Street staple that once served as a launching platform for comedians like Kevin Hart and Michael Blackson closed its doors for good on July 3, leaving Philadelphia's urban comedy fans searching for a new place for laughs.

“I always enjoyed going to the Laff House. At one point I was going down there like every week because there was always something to do and you just never knew who you were gonna get,” comedy fan Patty Candell said.

Candell, 56, who has been going to the Laff House for the past two years, said it’ll be hard to find a new place to fill the void.

“I really hope they can get something new because other venues that I’ve been to just aren’t conducive to comedy. I’m not even sure what I’ll do now. I’ll just have to look around on Facebook and see which comics have fliers out for their shows. I’m gonna miss it.”

Comedian Vernon Keith Ruffin, better known as Keith from up da block, had the bittersweet honor of being the last comedian to headline at the club, a goal he's been working towards for nearly eight years.

"I've been involved with the Laff House for about seven or eight years hosting shows, doing showcases there, editing their audio promotions, radio commercials and videos. I finally got to headline and do my own show there, which was actually a sold out show. The experience was very bittersweet because the club was closing," Ruffin said.

"It's also sad because my name is the last on the marquee. It says: Laff House closing, Keith from up the block and many more. Just seeing that made me think I have to do something."

Ruffin, along with several other local comedians including TuRae Gordon and Lawrence Killebrew have since launched the Save The Laff House campaign, a fundraising effort to provide a new venue for urban comedians in Philadelphia. Ruffin says the plan is not necessarily to reopen at the club's current location on South Street, but to raise enough money to lease a temporary venue until a new, permanent space can be built or purchased.

"17 years is a long time to have a black owned business on South Street in Philadelphia. But this new plan calls for a new and better way to create opportunities in a place that can hopefully keep inner-city urban comedy alive for another 10-15 years or more," Ruffin said.

"Our minimal goal is $100,000. With 100,000 we could possibly lease a new building for a while and help fund events that strengthen our culture, and still keep opportunities alive for black comedians in the city. But what we really need is $1 million so we can build a whole new place with, hopefully, two showrooms and a classroom."

The fundraiser is being hosted on crowdfunding web site indiegogo.com. According to the site, if the $100,000 goal is not reached by Sept. 3, all of the monies received will go back to the people who donated. But that's something the club owner's daughter Noel Millwood hopes they won't have to do.

"We want to get a new location and start the whole thing over, hopefully within the next 60 days. I think it will happen. I have hope; I believe in our effort, I think we can do it,” Millwood said.

Closing a chapter

Noel Millwood took over managing the club six months ago when her father's ability to handle the day-to-day business waned due to the loss of his wife Mona Wilkerson. Mona died of ovarian cancer early last year. Many described her as the heart of the club.

"When she passed, in my opinion, that building became almost a shell of what it used to be," Ruffin said.

"When Mona got sick my father just could not deal with the Laff House. Mona handled all of the business aspects of the Laff House as far as paying bills and everything, she was always there. So, after she got sick with terminal cancer, he started investing a lot of money and time into his wife and a lot of different ways to try to save her. After she passed, he kind of just lost it," Noel Millwood said.

"All of the memories and the time that they'd spent in the Laff House, he needed to leave that location. He couldn't survive being down there every day with their pictures all over the walls, and memories everywhere.”

Rod Millwood made the announcement of the closing just a few days before he actually shut the doors for good. Rod Millwood said relations with some of his employees went sour when went online and complained because he couldn’t afford to provide health insurance for them. But Milwood maintains that he did everything he could to make the club a great workplace.

Anger over the closing allegedly escalated the night after the final show, when Millwood says some comedians and employees trashed the club.

“It broke my heart to see what they did to that place, they just went through tearing stuff off the walls. It hurts to see the things they’re saying about me too. I think people need to be aware of just how much we fought to make that place a haven for urban comedy,” Rod Millwood said.

“When my wife passed, I couldn’t deal with it anymore. Without her, I couldn’t do it. And that’s why I closed. I had to bury my wife. I had to let it go and realize she’s gone and she’s never coming back. So closing the club gave me that option to say, okay, it’s over.”

Last laughs

The club’s closing came as a sudden surprise to many of the fans that frequented there.
Cheryl Faye Schwartz, also known as "Mama C," self-proclaimed comedian advocate says the closing of the Laff House creates a void in the city’s comedy scene.

“I just found out about the closing of the Laff House. It was sudden and it really hit me hard. The Laff House was a very, very big shelter for these comedians to come and perform; whether they were just getting started by performing open mic nights or if they were established comedians, they would go to the Laff House. When people came to visit from other cities, they would go to the Laff House to see good comedy there. I can’t imagine what the city will be without it,” she said.

“It was the only place where you could see urban comedy every day that they were open. It wasn’t one day there’d be music, another day there’d be jazz, the next day there’d be spoken word; it was all comedy, all day, every day. Now, we just don’t have that anymore,” Schwartz said.

Moving forward

Local comedian Lawrence Killebrew has been affiliated with the Laff House for nearly 11 years. While he’ll miss having a place like home to go to for comedy, Killebrew urged comedians to use the club’s closing as an opportunity to step out of their comfort zones.

“Some will say this is a bad thing, but it’s a chance for comedians to really branch out and to try new things. I think the Laff House, being the staple that it was, it kind of put a hindrance on some comics because people would always just say well I’m going down to the Laff House but they don’t understand that its other opportunities out here,” Killebrew said.

Ruffin says he's in the process of bringing together local comedians for input on how to make the Save the Laff House campaign a success. If they can't pull it off a rescue, he will still feel good about the effort.

"If we fail, if we don't reach our goal, at least I've made noise and maybe somebody will create a new home and opportunity for black comedy," Ruffin said.

So far, the campaign has raised $509. There are 56 days left before the campaign expires.

Rod Millwood says he has separate plans to revive the Laff House.

“I’m not saying I’ll never open another Laff House or I will never open up another club in the city of Philadelphia. There will be another Laff House. The Laff House is not dead and gone. But when I do open up another Laff House, it’s going to be a totally different ball game.”

A security guard opened fire on a car this morning outside an area motel after the driver apparently tried to run him over.

According to Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Officer Christine O'Brien  the incident at the North American Motor Inn began when three security guards at the motel on City Avenue in Philadelphia’s Wynnefield neighborhood saw something suspicious going on in a car parked in the building's garage.

The guards went over to the blue/gray two-door Nissan coupe with tinted windows around 3 a.m.

As the unidentified guards approached, the driver hit the gas and drove towards them, lowering his window and apparently extending his arm out the window with something in his hand, according to police.

One of the guards opened fire as the car barreled forward.

None of the security guards were hurt. It wasn't clear if the driver was hit.

Originally a guard on the scene told NBC10 that the car was stopped and the driver arrested. O'Brien later said that wasn't the case and that the driver fled west on City Avenue.

The incident remains under investigation.