A brutal attack dislocated the teeth and fractured the jaw of a 19-year-old Temple University student, but the terrifying incident won't stop her from finishing her courses this semester.

“I’m definitely going to go back to class,” said the victim, who asked not to be identified. “I don’t want this to stop me from finishing classes.”

Her father, however, is unsure if his daughter should return to Temple.

“I’m afraid for her to go back there,” he said. “But I’m going to leave that up to her.”

He added that he is prepared to offer a $500 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

The student was walking with her boyfriend near the intersection of 16th and Norris streets around 6 p.m. Friday when a group of about a dozen kids ranging in age from 8 to 14-years-old began taunting them, she said.

“I’m walking by and one of the people from the group screamed at me, really loud and really close to my face,” she said. “I kept walking because I don’t want to engage them. Then they start pulling at my hair and earrings.”

Her boyfriend, a 20-year-old Temple student, asked them to back off, but the group refused to relent.

• WATCH: Building Collapse in North Philadelphia

“They wouldn’t stop touching me,” the victim said. She says one of the girls in the group then struck her in the face.

“My boyfriend pushed the girl away from me that hit me in the face and then the girl’s sister came at me with a brick,” described the victim, who added she knows the pair of attackers are siblings because they said so during the assault.

She says the assailant smashed her with the brick twice, once across her face followed by a second blow to the side of her head.

“I tried to get away as fast as I could,” she said. “My teeth were halfway out of my mouth. I wasn’t thinking about anything besides getting to safety.”

She was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital, where doctors performed surgery to save and align her teeth.

“All of her teeth were pushed into the back of her mouth,” her father said. “Her five top, front teeth were bent all the way back from the gum.”

The 19-year-old student, who is recovering at her family’s home Sunday, can only consume liquids during her recovery.

• WATCH: Suspicious Activity Near Church

“My doctor says I shouldn’t put any pressure on my teeth for awhile,” she said. “So I’ve been eating my food through a straw.”

But the victim says she can put aside the pain to make sure the attackers don’t do the same thing to someone else.

“I don’t want them to get away with this,” she said. “This is my number one priority right now after classes – figure out who did this and put them away.”

Police are investigating the incident, which occurred while it was still light out and only a block from Temple’s athletic fields.

Temple University will cooperate with the Philadelphia Police Department to aid in the investigation of the incident, which happened outside of the Temple police force’s patrol area, according to a school spokesman.

School officials are communicating with the victim and her professors to ensure the necessary adjustments are made for her to meet her academic requirements while she heals, the spokesman added.

While the victim continues to recover, both she and her father ask for the public’s help.

“If anybody saw anything, just please report it,” her father said.

A Cumberland County woman died after being hit by a car along a South Jersey Street overnight.

Felice Arana was walking along the 800 block of Commerce Street East in Bridgeton, N.J., when a black Dodge Stratus crashed into her around 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Medics declared Arana dead at the scene; she was 41, according to New Jersey State Police.

The driver of the car, Antonio Statton, stopped and cooperated with investigators, according to police.

Police said Statton was driving his Stratus in the eastbound lanes of Commerce Street when he struck Arana. Investigators said that Arana's body was found in the westbound lane.

Investigators also didn’t reveal exact details about what led to the deadly accident.

Police closed Commerce Street at South Burlington Road for hours as they investigated. 

• Get the latest traffic from NBC10.com.

No charges were filed.

Click here for more news from New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Another Northeast Philadelphia Wawa was recently held up overnight, this time by a guy seemingly there to buy a cup of coffee.

The latest heist happened at the convenience store location at 7001 Roosevelt Boulevard in the Oxford Circle section of the city around 3:40 a.m. Friday.

Police released surveillance video Monday of a man with his face partially covered by a winter hat and dark turtle neck walking around in the Wawa store.

Police say the man grabbed a coffee and approached the counter seemingly to pay. After the clerk told the man the cost of the cup of joe, the suspect sated “damn that’s a lot” then placed his hand in his jacket, according to police Northeast Detectives.

The clerk told police that the man said “give me all the small bills!”

The clerk complied, handed over a handful of cash and the offender fled from the store headed towards Tyson Avenue, according to investigators.

Luckily no one was hurt.

Security was increased at another Oxford Circle Wawa store less than a mile away after a recent string of robberies at the Wawa at Bustleton Pike and Levick Street

The Bustleton Pike store was held up Jan. 15 by a man carrying a semi-automatic handgun. A $25,000 reward was offered in that case and others because since October that same store has been hit four other times by masked robbers.

An armed man, wearing a “Scream” mask like the one worn in the horror-movie franchise, entered the store on Nov. 26 and demanded money, according to Philadelphia Police. An employee handed over an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and the masked man fled from the store.

Police officers at that time told NBC10 that they believe this same suspect struck the store before -- captured on surveillance video.

The earlier thefts also featured masked robbers coming in between 3 to 4 a.m. and demanding money. In an Oct. 1 incident, two masked men burst into the store and made off with cash. Then, on Nov. 4 a masked man made off with cash from the register.

Finally, on Nov. 21, a man in a "Scream" masked burst in and demanded money.

A nearby Wawa store on Krewstown Road was also held up in late December.

It's unclear if all the thefts are connected.

Wawa says it has taken measure to try and prevent thefts at its stores: "The safety and security of our associates and customers is of utmost importance to us. Our priority is always to ensure the safety and security of our associates and our customers at this store, and we have been pursuing all avenues..."

Anyone with information should contact police and/or call Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153.

Editor's Note: 10 Questions is a weekend feature on NBC10.com. If you know someone who we should profile, please email us.

With her rendition of "Angel From Montgomery," Delaware County native Audra McLaughlin secured a spot in the 6th season of NBC's "The Voice" vocal competition, capturing the attention of all four of the show's judges during the blind audition process.

Now the Delaware County Community College student is hoping to push through the battle rounds, the knockouts, and avoid elimination to make it to the final live performance round.

As one of nine artists remaining on Team Blake, we talked to McLaughlin about her journey to becoming a Voice contestant, and her hopes for making it all the way to the winner's circle.

When did you first get a passion for singing?

I started singing when I was like seven and I would always walk around my house and I would always be singing Mariah Carey, or just to the radio, or in the car, or everywhere I went. When I was nine, I started taking vocal lessons in my area and then I started getting involved in local competitions. I started getting involved in the choir at my high school and then I really started getting into song writing and playing my guitar and that was really what I loved doing.

How did you first learn about The Voice auditions?

I started going to the DelCo Let There Be Rock School about a year ago, and in April they sent my videos in to The Voice. It was an industry referral, actually, and they got back to them within two weeks and asked if I wanted to come in for a private, industry audition in New York, and it all stemmed from there.

During the blind auditions, did you already know which judge you were going to pick?

Definitely before, when I was being asked, my decision was Blake Shelton, always, going into it. I mean, there was always that moment that, depending on whatever they said, I was willing to change who I would go with but I just think that what he said to me really stuck with me and so I decided to go with him.

What would you say has been your favorite moment in the competition so far?

There's so many, but to pick one, I guess would definitely be working with Blake Shelton. It's like so priceless to have the chance to work with someone that is so well respected in the music industry; someone that I look up to so much. And I think he's just such a great person and he really just makes you feel so confident about yourself. It's just been amazing to get to work with someone like him.

Have you gotten a lot of support from your classmates at Delaware County Community College?

Definitely online, and on my Twitter, and on my Facebook and all of my social networks, it's been such an incredible network of support from everybody. I actually took a year off from school, so I haven't been there in a couple of months, but the support has been just amazing.

What is the biggest challenge you've faced since you've been on the show?

I think, you know, the battle rounds definitely were very, very tough, because you're battling against your friends. These are people that you've really been spending so much time with, and you both want this so bad and you're just hoping, you know that the best thing will come out of it. So, I think just working together--I love working with other people--but just knowing that they're your friends is difficult.

What has been your strategy for giving yourself an edge over the competition?

I've been working with my vocal coach Melissa Daley for almost a year now, and she just worked with me, day-in and day-out, helping me really just make my songs my own. We work over the phone when we're out there and she gives me different advice and tips on everything that goes into it. We're a good team.

I'm sure it's been sort of a whirlwind going from regular life to being on television every week. What do you miss most about life before The Voice?

I've always been very family-oriented. My family and I, we go on a lot of vacations and we spend a lot of time together. So, lately, my time has been just focusing on this competition. So, I miss spending time with my family but I know that their always gonna be there for me and they've always been my biggest fans, so it's nice to know that I'll always have them.

Do you still get nervous on stage?

Growing up I had stage fright a little bit, but by doing it so much I've gotten so much more comfortable doing it. I mean, I always get nervous. I think that, as a singer, getting up on that stage is so different than anything else that you do in your normal day life but it's what I love to do. So, I think that it just comes so natural in a way, but I do still get nervous.

At this point in the competition, how optimistic do you feel about winning?

There's just so many incredibly talented people in this competition. I mean, they're all so amazing. So, I'm really just going to work really hard and, you know, just do my best  and hope that the best comes out of it.

A sharp spike in carbon monoxide poisonings in Philadelphia this year has fire officials reminding homeowners to make sure their heating systems are properly maintained.

Philadelphia Fire Capt. Clifford Gilliam says in just the first three months of 2014 the number of carbon monoxide incidents jumped 75 percent over the year before. There were 89 CO incidents from Jan. 1 through Mar. 15, 2014 and 51 in the same period of 2013, he said.

Fifteen people were injured in CO incidents this year, while only three people were hurt the year before, according to Gilliam.

While injuries and incidents were up year over year, no one has died this year from carbon monoxide poisoning. Three people were killed in 2013 from these incidents, Gilliam said.

• Tri-State Snow-Fighting Spending Skyrockets During Brutal Winter

Gilliam says fire officials believe the very cold and long winter has contributed to the increase in poisonings. He says homeowners need to be vigilant about making sure they have their heating systems cleaned and maintained.

“A majority of the incidents stem from improperly maintained home heating systems and by that we mean the heater, the flute, all of the components of the heating system,” he said. “If you see it’s rusting, that’s a sign you need to have it serviced. If you’re looking around the bottom of the heater and you’re seeing that carbon buildup, that’s a sign your system needs to be serviced.”

The captain also warned not to use grills, charcoal or gas, kerosene heaters or generators inside a house or enclosed garage. Gilliam made the reminder as part of Poison Prevention Week, which ran through Saturday.

Being that carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless, fire officials say it’s also important to have a CO detectors in a home. City law requires a carbon monoxide detector be installed within 15 feet of every sleeping area in a house. A state law will soon go into effect requiring the same rules for apartment buildings, Gilliam said.

“Sometimes the symptoms are not easily recognized. [The residents] are sitting a home with a headache, feeling lightheaded, but having a CO alarm is an early warning,” he said.

The Philadelphia Fire Department has a limited number of CO alarms available to the public, the captain said.

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

The record snowfall this winter has forced snow removal spending in the tri-state to skyrocket -- by as much as 1,070 percent.

New Jersey budgeted $10 million for snow removal, but has spent $117.3 million so far this winter, a spokesperson with the state’s department of transportation said. That’s an increase of 1,070 percent. The agency says they will spend as much money as necessary to keep the roads safe and will eventually be reimbursed by the state treasury.

NJDOT nearly doubled the amount of rock salt it used to treat the roads this winter during 47 snow events. More than 489,000 tons of salt were needed this winter versus 258,000 the year before, officials said.

• Carbon Monoxide Poisonings Spike During Harsh Winter

In Delaware, the state winter storm-fighting efforts cost the state more than five times the budgeted $3.5 million dollars. A spokesperson with DelDOT tells NBC10.com they have spent $16 million treating 12,000 miles of roads across the state. They’ve also used 96,300 tons of rock salt and spent $3 million in overtime pay.

Pennsylvania has spent $226 million statewide clearing snow and treating roads during the winter of 2013-2014, a spokesman with PennDOT said. That’s a 20 percent spike over budget.

More than $34 million of that total was used in the five county region around Philadelphia, PennDOT said.

While spring has arrived, the budgets could continue to increase as cold weather and another potential snowstorm prepare to set in next week.

A man wearing a mask popularized by the "Scream" horror movie franchise grabbed a teenage girl as she walked to her Philadelphia school last week, police say.

The 14-year-old girl was walking along the 2100 block of Granite Street in the city’s Frankford section Friday morning around 7:30 when a man jumped out of a car, according to Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit.

The man was wearing a “Scream” mask similar to the ones worn by the killers in the "Scream" movie franchise.

Police say the masked man grabbed the girl from behind and tried to cover her mouth.

The girl however broke free and was able to run to her school where she reported the incident, according to police.

Police said the suspect stands 5-foot-9-inches tall and weighs around 200 pounds.

He was driving a white four-door vehicle with tinted windows that police say is possibly a Pontiac.

Another Temple University student has come forward claiming she was attacked by a group of young girls minutes before a brutal off-campus assault with a brick that forced a fellow co-ed into surgery.

The 20-year-old junior, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, tells NBC10.com she was text messaging a friend as she walked down her street, the 1700 block of Willington Street, around 5:45 p.m. on Friday when she was blindsided by a fist.

“I typed [the message] and lifted my head to start walking again and as I lifted my head up, there was a girl coming at me, swinging at me, and I was able to lean back. She barely hit my chin, and then she swung again and hit my mouth area and my neck and I was able to shove her away and sprint away,” she said.

The student says a group of seven to 10 girls took part in the unprovoked attack that left her with a few bruises. When she was able to break away, the woman says she ran to her nearby house, which is just feet from Philadelphia Police’s 22nd District headquarters.

Minutes after, the woman said a Philadelphia Police officer knocked on her door asking if she was OK. A driver apparently witnessed the attack and flagged down an officer, the student said.

“The officer said ‘Are you OK? Are you OK?’ and I was in shock and told her that I wasn't hurt bad,” she said.

The student said she was in shock and couldn’t really speak about the incident, so later that night, at the urging of her roommate, she walked over to the 22nd District headquarters to make a report.

But she says that attempt fell on deaf ears.

“His attitude was very nonchalant and he was acting like it was no big deal,” she said speaking about the officer inside the station.

The woman said the whole conversation happened from within the station’s waiting room, which was full of people at the time, and that she didn’t feel comfortable talking about all of the details regarding the assault in public.

“He said if it happened again to call 911. I didn't think to call 911 because I was at the station, I was four doors down,” she said.

The co-ed was planning to let the situation go, until she heard about the unprovoked attack of two other Temple students only three blocks away, just 15 minutes after hers.

NBC10.com was first to report that assault, in which a group of girls and boys, some of whom are believed to be as young as 8-years-old, punched and used a brick to hit a couple as they walked near Temple’s athletic fields at 16th and Norris Streets around 6 p.m. on Friday.

In that attack, a 19-year-old girl was hit in the mouth with a brick, dislodging her teeth – an injury that required emergency surgery.

“My boyfriend pushed the girl away from me that hit me in the face and then the girl’s sister came at me with a brick,” the victim told NBC10.com in an exclusive interview. She also asked to remain anonymous citing safety concerns. “I tried to get away as fast as I could. My teeth were halfway out of my mouth. I wasn’t thinking about anything besides getting to safety.”

The victim in the first attack is a family friend of the 19-year-old. The two plan to meet on Temple’s North Philadelphia campus this week to discuss their experiences. The 20-year-old says she also plans to return to the police station on Monday to try to file an official report.

NBC10.com reached out to Philadelphia Police about the attack and whether they are investigating a connection.

In a written response, the Philadelphia Police Office of Public Affairs said the department was not aware of the second attack.

"If there is someone else out there indicating they were assaulted, then we want to know about it, so that it can be investigated, and to see if they are connected. More importantly, so that those who are responsible for this brutal attack are off the streets," a spokesperson wrote.

Questions as to why a police report was not taken by an officer at the woman's home or at the station were not answered.

Ray Betzner, Assistant Vice President of University Communications at Temple, says the university had not been notified of the alleged attack. Having taken place off of the university's campus, he said it is out of Temple University Police's jurisdiction, which ends at 16th Street.

"We have primary concern of ensuring the safety of the 5,000 to 6,000 students who live on campus," he said. "Those students who choose to live in the City of Philadelphia are protected by Philadelphia Police."

For the past two years, Temple has paid the city $1 million a year to enhance police patrols in the neighborhoods surrounding campus, Betzner said. He adds that they rely on police to notify them about crimes in those areas and involving Temple students.

Betzner says the university also has a number of programs -- including escorts -- to keep students safe.

Asked why Temple did not sent out an alert about the brick attack after officials were made aware of it, he said such alerts are reserved for situations where people are in imminent danger.

As for the woman, she says the attack is prompting her to change her ways when walking through the neighborhood.

“I’m definitely never going to have my head down again,” she said. “I am just going to be with people all the time. Maybe if I was just with another person they wouldn’t have targeted me."

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter. Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.

Two people are in the hospital after a shooting and robbery in Cheltenham Township.

Police say a gunman entered a home on 22 Central Avenue near Cottman Avenue shortly before 5 p.m. on Monday. 

The suspect allegedly robbed two men inside the home and shot one of them in the knee. Investigators say the second victim jumped out of the window to escape and suffered a head injury in the process.

The suspect fled the scene. Police have not yet released a description or revealed how much money was stolen.

Both victims were taken to Abington Hospital. Police have not yet revealed their conditions.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

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A Philadelphia high school student was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a school employee and knocked him unconscious.

The alleged incident took place on Friday at John Bartram High School on the 2400 block of S 67th Street.

Police say the worker and the 17-year-old student exchanged words as students changed classes. That’s when the student allegedly snapped.

Investigators say the teen grabbed the man’s arm and slammed him into a wall, knocking him unconscious. A viewer sent NBC10 a Vine video which they claimed showed the aftermath of the attack. The video shows a man lying on the ground, out cold. NBC10 showed the video to Curtis Brown, a parent of a student at Bartram High.

“I’m concerned as a parent,” Brown said. “Also, he’s concerned because it really troubled him, the fact that one of his administrators was accosted. It’s sad. It’s very sad.”

A spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District confirmed the attack and also told NBC10 that the victim is a climate manager, a school staff member who helps resolve conflicts between students. Officials also say he suffered a concussion during the assault. They have not yet released an official statement on the incident however.

Jerry Jordan, the president of the Philadelphia Teacher’s Union, claimed the attack could have been prevented if there was increased security at the school. 

“Young people are not properly being supervised because the district has eliminated the services of non-instructional support personnel,” Jordan said. 

The student was suspended pending expulsion. He is charged as a juvenile with aggravated and simple assault.

 

As delegates from our area prepare for a meeting with Pope Francis in Rome, people back home are doing their part to convince the Pope to come to Philly.

Starting on Tuesday, Visit Philadelphia, the official tourism group for the city, will launch a social media campaign inviting the Pope to come to Philly in September of 2015 when the city hosts the World Meeting of Families.

Visit Philly announced the campaign on twitter on Monday.

Tomorrow: join people all over the Philadelphia region in inviting the Pope via Twitter to visit #Philadelphia in 2015. #PopeinPhilly

— Visit Philly (@visitphilly) March 24, 2014

Using the hashtag #PopeinPhilly, officials with Visit Philly hope the twitter campaign will play a role during Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Tom Corbett’s meeting with the pope.

“The Mayor and the Governor are meeting with the Pope on Wednesday,” said Cara Schneider, Media Relations Director for Visit Philadelphia. “The idea is that if there’s action on Tuesday, they can refer to it on Wednesday when they meet him.”

Schneider says the campaign was a collaborative effort from Visit Philly, Mayor Nutter’s communications office, Councilman Jim Kenney and the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“We’re all kind of playing together,” Schneider said. “It’s fun. I think it’s just a good-natured way for people to reach out. It’s really supposed to feel organic.”

Mayor Nutter, Governor Corbett and other delegates, including Archbishop Charles Chaput, landed in Rome on Monday. They will remain in Italy until Thursday to work with Vatican officials on the eighth World Meeting of Families.

City officials say the September 2015 event could attract more than 1 million people from around the world and be the largest gathering in Philadelphia history.

The Vatican has not confirmed a papal visit to the U.S., but other popes have attended past world family meetings, and family issues are a top priority for Pope Francis.

NBC10's Jim Rosenfield along with digital managing editor Karen Araiza and photojournalist Jason Ryan arrived in Rome on Saturday. The team is covering the efforts from local leaders to persuade the Pope to come to Philly. Rosenfield is reporting live on NBC10 throughout the week.

You can follow their progress, including blog posts and photos, here.

Letters written by Pennsylvania students to Pope Francis will be hand-delivered and presented to the pope as gifts this week from Governor Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett.

The Corbetts are among the delegates who traveled to Rome this week to meet with the Vatican organization that’s planning the World Meeting for Families in Philadelphia next year. Pope Francis is expected to participate, which would make Philadelphia his first visit to the United States.

“P.S. I would love it if I could meet you when you come to Pennsylvania,” writes 10-year-old Ryan Ness, who also tells the pope a little about himself and his family. He offers to pray for Pope Francis and then asks, “Could you keep me in your prayers?”

The letters were written by students at Good Shepherd School in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pa., which is a borough next to Harrisburg. The school started a Prayer Partner program several years ago for first graders. Students pull names of prominent people from various vocations and develop what akin to a spiritual pen pal relationship. Governor Corbett has been a Prayer Partner with seven different students in recent years.

“They’ve been writing to us every year,” Corbett said. “And I thought it could be very important and I asked the sister if she would like to have the children write a note to the pope and we’re going to deliver them.”

Pope Francis will receive the letters on Wednesday when he shares a private audience with the Philly delegates before his traditional General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Third-grader Ethan Shulder-Elia drew a cross on his card for the pope and wishing him a “Happy belated St. Patrick’s day from my family.”

Sixth grader Caroline Dash had more to say than her fellow students, who kept their letters to a page or a card. She typed up a three-page letter sharing more personal moments including her adoption and recent moment of reflection when “I felt like God was talking right to me.” And she ends with and afterthought the governor thinks this pope might smile when reads. “P.S. Do you like your job?”

Playing host to an international event like the 2015 World Meeting of Families (WMOF) is no small endeavor. There is one man, specifically, who will be in charge of making sure people are safe and that the event, which could draw two million people, runs smoothly. Everett Gillison, who is mayor Michael Nutter's chief of staff. Gillison is in Rome with the mayor and other delegates as they plan the WMOF and as they meet Pope Francis face-to-face. We stopped Gillison near the Pantheon today to ask him a few questions about how the city will deal with things, logistically.

Q: Tell us about your role with the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

A: Well, I'm the mayor's Chief of Staff but I'm also Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and in both roles, I have to serve as the person responsible for convening all of the various agencies that do big event -- police, fire and we have homeland security. All of those people come together in doing any big event and this event is obviously going to tax all of us. I have to come up with a plan that will not only keep everyone safe, but so everyone can enjoy themselves while they're in Philadelphia.

Q: That's a huge role.

A: It's a huge role. It's a huge logistics role. But we've grown from when we first started as a staff of about six to now, whenever we do our MIA (Made in America) or Welcome America stuff, we sometimes have upwards of 40 or 50 people in a room. So you know, I've gotten used to doing this. The city's gotten very good at it, we have a lot of great public servants who help us to make sure that we achieve what we need to do.

Q: How confident are you that the city can pull off something this big?

A: Very. I'm pretty sure we can do it. The only thing that we always have to worry about is that the people remain flexible. We have to manage everyone's expectations, both people in the city who are going to want to know that they're still having their needs met while all these other people are coming around, so we have to manage our communications, we have to manage our flexibility with our responses to people and we also have to make sure people understand that this is a good thing for all of us. As the city's statue continues to ride on a world-wide level, there's challenges to it, but there's a lot of positives.

Look we're standing in Rome right now, I'm in the Piazza next to the Parthenon and I'm learning about things, and I'm about to meet the pope to talk about his role in continuing Philadelphia's view as a holy experiment. I really think that it's an honor to be here and it's an honor to make sure our city can respond in a positive way.

Q: How important is this face-to-face meeting with members of the Pontifical Council for Families that is planning the WMOF?

A: I always think relationships are built. And they are the ones that last. I think face-to-face is always where you want to start, because you really have to find a certain context or common ground as you build on having something.

Q: A lot of older people are going to want to be at this event if the Pope comes to Philadelphia. How does the city deal with the emergencies and special needs that could create?

A: All of that has to be a part of the planning and sometimes that means you have to divide things up. We may end up having to do something like serve communion in several different places and have it be all part of the same big moment. Whatever we figure out, it will be a great thing for our city.

Q: What are you most in awe of here, being in Rome?

A: I've been here about half a day, but I think just the sense of history. The experience. Just being here. It's my first time to Rome and I'm actually looking at an obelisk that Moses may have had his eyes on when he was a kid. With my spirituality, to be able to be around these kinds of things, it humbles both my spirit and humbles me as an individual. And I'm just blessed to be here at this time and to have this opportunity.

Philadelphia Police released surveillance video of a group of teen girls accused of assaulting a Temple University student with a brick.

On March 21, at 6 p.m., a 19-year-old Temple Student and her boyfriend were walking on the 1600 block of Norris Street. As they arrived at the intersection of 17th and Norris Streets, they were approached by a large group of teen girls.

Police say one of the girls then struck the student in the face with a brick while the other suspects tried to rob the student's boyfriend.

“My boyfriend pushed the girl away from me that hit me in the face and then the girl’s sister came at me with a brick,” the victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, told NBC10.com in an exclusive interview. “I tried to get away as fast as I could. My teeth were halfway out of my mouth. I wasn’t thinking about anything besides getting to safety.”

Police say the suspects then fled the area and boarded a SEPTA bus traveling south on 17th Street.

The student was taken to Hahnemann Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for dislocated teeth and other facial injuries.

On Monday, police released a surveillance video of four of the suspects.

The first suspect is described as a girl between the ages of 16 and 17 with braids and wearing a red t-shirt. The second suspect is described as a girl between the ages of 16 and 17 with straight hair, tattoos on her arms and chest and wearing a denim jacket.

The third suspect is described as a girl between the ages of 16 and 17 with her hair tied in a bun and standing 5-feet. Finally, the fourth suspect is described as a tall girl with straight hair between the ages of 16 and 17 dressed in all white.

Another Temple University student also came forward, claiming she was attacked by a group of young girls minutes before the attack on Norris Street.

The 20-year-old junior, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told NBC10.com she was text messaging a friend as she walked down her street, the 1700 block of Willington Street, around 5:45 p.m. on Friday when she was blindsided by a fist.

“I typed [the message] and lifted my head to start walking again and as I lifted my head up, there was a girl coming at me, swinging at me, and I was able to lean back. She barely hit my chin, and then she swung again and hit my mouth area and my neck and I was able to shove her away and sprint away,” she said.

The student says a group of seven to 10 girls took part in the unprovoked attack that left her with a few bruises. When she was able to break away, the woman says she ran to her nearby house, which is just feet from Philadelphia Police’s 22nd District headquarters.

While Philadelphia Police confirmed the brick attack on the 19-year-old girl, they have not yet confirmed the attack on the 20-year-old student.

On Monday night, Temple University officials released an alert to students and announced they were made aware of the assaults as well as an attempted purse snatching on a Temple student by a pair of juvenile girls early Monday evening.

According to Jim Creedon, Senior Vice President for Construction, Facilities and Operations at Temple, an alert was not issued to the school on Friday because the school was not made aware of the attacks until several hours after they took place. According to Creedon, an alert is only issued when there is an "immediate or imminent threat to the campus community and/or some immediate action is needed to be taken by the campus community."

"To be clear, the TU Alerts are designed to make you aware of an immediate threat or ask you to take action that will change your normal behavior and keep you safe," Creedon said. "It is not a method of reporting crime on or around campus.

Philadelphia Police and Temple Police continue to investigate.

A car burst into flames along one of Philadelphia’s busiest roads overnight leaving the driver dead.

The car went out of control around 11 p.m. Monday as it traveled northbound on the 4600 block of Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia’s Crescentville section.

Firefighters and police quickly rushed to the scene.

“They found a 2011 Mazda in the median strip of the Boulevard, it had flipped over on its side,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small. “The vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.”

Firefighters tried to extinguish the flames as quickly as possible but it was too late for the driver.

“Inside of the vehicle was a body that was burned beyond recognition – pronounced dead on the scene,” said Small.

Police said the car lost control in the northbound lanes before striking a tree in the median and catching fire.

The crash involved only the one car, according to investigators.

Small said that further investigation is needed to figure out if the driver was a man or woman let alone his or her identification.

Investigators hope an autopsy and running vehicle information will help them identify the victim.