A father and son were killed Saturday night when a car exploded in Allentown, the Lehigh Coroner's Office announced Monday afternoon.

Jacob Schmoyer, 26, of Allentown, and his 2-year-old son, Jonathon Schmoyer, were among two of the victims, officials said.

A third victim, David Hallman, 66, also from Allentown, knew and "was friends" with the elder Schmoyer, authorities added.

Three cars were removed from the scene, including the one that received the brunt of the blast, officials said.

No arrests have been made as of Monday.

Officials hope to finish processing the crime scene by Tuesday but the investigation remains ongoing.

The deadly blast rocked Allentown Saturday night and shocked both witnesses and residents, several of whom described seeing body parts litter the street. 

One neighbor told NBC10 that his entire apartment building shook after the explosion. Another said it sounded like fireworks going off in the street.

"We heard a big blast and we ran out to our balcony to see if we could see anything," neighbor Jonathan Pack said. "My gut reaction was bomb."

Mike Hunter, another witness, was about a block away from the blast when he heard the explosion.

"People were yelling. People were running," Hunter said. "People were scared."

Hunter grabbed his cellphone and recorded the aftermath. The video showed a car engulfed in flames, as well as what appears to be body parts on the ground.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Hunter said. "I've only seen things like that on TV."

Dozens of ATF agents responded to the scene Saturday night, which they said appeared to be a "criminal matter." County, state and federal officials were also involved in the ongoing investigation. Local residents were advised to avoid the area and find alternate routes around the crime scene.

On Facebook, Allentown Councilman Courtney A. Robinson expressed sympathy for the victims and the community at large, and warned that "this will be a complicated investigation and it will take time until we know what happened."

Neighbors, meanwhile, described a confusing and terrifying scene moments after the blast tore through the area.

"As soon as I turned around I heard a big boom," Desiree Guth, a witness, said. "I saw the car on fire. I saw a leg by the car and I ran away."

The Eagles and their fans are still reeeling from Sunday's heartbreaking overtime loss. Even though the Birds lost, several members of the team came up winners Monday. They're giving back to the community in a big way.

One of the six women who accused a former University of Delaware baseball player of rape is speaking out.

Clay Conaway, 22, of Georgetown, Delaware, was released on bail Monday and won't be allowed to leave his parents' home until his trial.

He is charged with first-degree rape in an alleged assault of a 20-year-old woman at a home in Georgetown in June.

State police announced last week that following Conaway's arrest, five other women have reported that he had assaulted them as well. Conaway was indicted on six counts of second-degree rape involving those allegations, which date back to 2013.

"A gentleman is a gentleman," one of the accusers told NBC10. "Decent human beings don't do this."

The woman said Conaway assaulted her in her off-campus apartment. She said she tried to believe it was a one-time mistake and saw Conaway off and on for a few months. She told NBC10 she ended the relationship when he began to try to control her.

"Last time I saw him was when he threatened to put my dead body in the Delaware River," she said.

Conaway has not been charged in the specific case but the woman provided NBC10 documents showing her allegations led to a university investigation that ended with him being expelled.

"I think it really is a power thing for him," she said. "I think as soon as he hears no he just wants to be in control."

The woman said she felt empowered after seeing other women stand up to abusers. She also hopes other women who believe Conaway abused them to come forward and share their story with police.

A shocking experience for a home owner, making the switch to solar energy. She tells us when solar panels damaged her roof, the solar panel company refused to fix the problem. So she contacted NBC10 Responds.

A mother was killed in a quadruple shooting in West Philadelphia while shielding her baby daughter from the bullets, according to her family members.

Dawn Boyd, 22, was outside a friend’s house on the 5100 block of Haverford Avenue around 9:20 p.m. Friday along with a 24-year-old man, 35-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman. Boyd’s 10-month-old daughter and another young child were also outside at the time, witnesses said.

While the group was outside, a vehicle pulled up in front of the home and at least one gunman opened fire. Loved ones say Boyd quickly grabbed her daughter and shielded her from the gunfire.

Boyd was shot multiple times in both legs, her left arm and chest while the 24-year-old man was shot in the chest. The 35-year-old man was shot in the left arm while the 21-year-old woman was shot in the upper right leg.

The 24-year-old man was taken to Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after. Boyd was also taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. She later died from her injuries Sunday, according to her family. The other two victims are in stable condition.

Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker said the bullets came from two separate guns. The man who died lost a brother to gun violence last year, he said.

Neither Boyd’s daughter nor the other child were injured during the shooting. Loved ones are crediting Boyd with saving their lives.

“She grabbed the two babies, her friend ran into the house and by the time she turned around my daughter was crawling, saying she couldn’t breathe," Michelle McDonnell, Boyd’s mother, told NBC10.

Family members are currently setting funeral arrangements. They don’t believe Boyd was the intended target.

“My granddaughter, thank God she’s still here,” Stephen Boyd, Boyd’s father, said. “As my daughter tried to protect the kids, she lost her life and we consider her as a hero.” 

Police continue to investigate. They have not released a description of the suspect or the suspect’s vehicle. If you have any information on the shooting, please call Philadelphia police.

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In our area, anyone caught providing drugs to someone who overdoses and dies can be charged with a crime one step below murder. But the NBC10 Investigators dug into a local case that is sparking debate regarding whether the harshest punishments in the opioid fight are going too far. 

From feeding children to providing dental health to yoga, Eagles players stayed busy off the field by giving back to the community Monday.

Businesses in Philadelphia have a new way to market their products with the 'Shop Philly 1st' app. It showcases businesses, services and activities in Philadelphia.

The U.S. Department of Education named two Philadelphia schools, Albert M. Greenfield and William M. Meredith, to the list of Blue Ribbon schools. Other area schools were also recognized for excellence.

A 7-foot-4-inch Viking statue toppled into Philadelphia's Schuylkill River Tuesday morning, police said.

It remains unclear who pulled the bronze off its perch along Fairmount Park’s Kelly Drive then dragged it into the river. No suspects have been identified.

Philadelphia police were called to the banks of the Schuylkill River just north of Boathouse Row around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday to find the Thorfinn Karlsefni statue submerged in the murky river. The statue, which features the Icelandic explorer thought to have visited America more than a millennium ago, has stood along the river for nearly 100 years.

People exercising along Kelly Drive before daybreak Tuesday stopped to take photos of the damaged nearly granite base where the statue once stood. Philadelphia detectives also stopped by to snap photos and look for surveillance video that could help them track down the person or people responsible for the vandalism.

It appeared the statue was pulled off its massive stone base, which measures 12-by-12 feet wide. Bits of stone were scattered across drag marks on the ground and the bronze could be seen bubbling underwater in the river.

The police marine unit arrived after 10 a.m. to assess the sunken situation. A crane would likely be needed to retrieve the statue, which weighs several thousand pounds, said Doug Martenson, who was tasked with renovating the statue after previous vandalism. The recovery effort could cost thousands of dollars.

Einar Jónsson forged the statue in 1918 and the city installed it in 1920. The statue was commissioned by the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) and J. Bunford Samuel. It is one of dozens of statues lining the Schuylkill River north of Boathouse Row.

The statue has been the site of past white nationalist demonstrations around Leif Erickson Day, which honors the Norse explorer of the same name every Oct. 9, and counterprotests. The statue was also spray-painted in the past.

The sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have triggered emotions and memories for survivors of sexual assault. Philadelphia's Rape Crisis Center is getting flooded with calls for help.

Graduate Philadelphia is a unique program that works to help Philadelphia residents who started to get their college degrees but left school for whatever reason, finish their programs.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, seeking a third term, disputed the results of a poll released Monday that shows a close race with the Republican challenger, former pharmaceutical CEO Bob Hugin.

It's not unusual for a candidate to call out a poll that doesn't show his campaign in as favorable a light as he would like.

What is unusual is that another pollster called into question the survey done by the Polling Institute at Stockton University's William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy.

Amounting to a duel between New Jersey universities, Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute said Stockton's survey has "serious problems" in its reliability.

Murray, arguably the Garden State's best-known independent pollster, went on to call out the poll as having potentially damaging effects on trust in voter surveys.

"Pollsters can have honest differences about methodological choices," he said in a long statement posted to his Twitter account on Monday afternoon. "... but there are times when clear methodological problems raise concerns about the enterprise."

A Stockton spokeswoman said Murray's public dispute shocked polling institute officials, but the institute stood by the survey in a statement.

"I respect the work done by Mr. Murray at Monmouth, but we stand by our poll results," executive director Michael Klein said. "We recognize the demographics in the poll are not entirely reflective of the population, and weight our results accordingly."

Stockton's survey of 531 likely voters found Menendez with a 45 to 43 percent lead over Hugin, five weeks out from the Nov. 6 midterm elections. Libertarian Murray Sabrin came in at 3 percent with an additional 8 percent of voters undecided.

“With a two-point lead falling within the poll’s margin of error, the Senate race at this point is up for grabs,” Klein said in releasing the poll.

“Bob Hugin has been attacking Senator Menendez on ethics with a heavy advertising campaign. However, with so many voters still unfamiliar with the Republican, Menendez will likely try to define his challenger in negative terms,” Klein added.

Hugin has spent millions of his personal wealth on television and radio advertisements, controlling the message in the Senate race over the summer months. Some observers estimate he could spend up to $40 million before Nov. 6.

The Menendez camp said the senator's advertising campaign began in late August and his presence on television will continue to increase in the final month of the race.

Hugin's campaign hailed the Stockton poll as evidence that voters had begun paying attention to the Republican's message and that the incumbent's appeal in the liberal Garden State is waning.

But the Menendez campaign pointed to previous elections in which Democratic candidates significantly outperformed what Stockton polls found.

"The Stockton Poll historically underestimates Democratic performance; this is no different. At the same time in the race in 2016 and 2014, they undercut Hillary Clinton’s statewide performance by nine points and Cory Booker’s by seven, respectively, as each won by double-digit margins," the campaign said. "In 2012, Stockton had Senator Menendez with 52 percent, only to wind up with 59 percent en route to a 20-point victory."

Murray, in his Twitter statement, took exception with Stockton's methodology in several ways, including what he described as under-representation of voters aged 18-29 and blacks and Latinos.

He also questioned how Stockton weighs the advantage Democrats have over Republicans in New Jersey, based on the roughly 900,000-voter advantage that the Democratic Party has in the state.

Last year, Menendez’s federal bribery trial ended in a mistrial when the jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked on all charges against the New Jersey politician and a wealthy donor.

The Democrat was accused of using his political influence to help Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for luxury vacations in the Caribbean and Paris, flights on Melgen's private jet and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to organizations that supported the senator directly or indirectly.

Nearly 60 percent of voters polled said the corruption charges against Menendez are an extremely important or significant factor in their vote. But, 51 percent also said “a claim by that Hugin profited off an expensive cancer drug while CEO of a pharmaceutical company is an extremely important or significant factor in their votes,” according to the poll.

Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, served in the House from 1993 until he was appointed to fill a Senate vacancy in 2006. He has chaired the Foreign Relations Committee and was a major player in the unsuccessful bipartisan "Gang of Eight" effort to overhaul the nation's immigration laws in 2013.

Hugin, a native of Hudson County, graduated from Princeton University before entering the Marine Corps in 1976. He served for eight years. After earning a master’s degree in business from Virginia University, he went to work at J.P. Morgan. Over the years, he rose to managing director.

In 1999, he took over as chairman and CEO of a large pharmaceutical company called Celgene, based in Summit. He retired earlier this year.

"Any poll is just a snapshot in time," Klein, of Stockton, said. "We believe the Stockton Poll is reflective of where the Senate race is at this point."

As part of Design Philadelphia, several creative studios opted to transform a house on one of the oldest continuously inhabited streets in Philadelphia -- a small home on Elfreth's Alley. Take a look.

In this episode of Broke In Philly, NBC10 talks to Sherita Mouzon, who works as a Witness to Hunger with Drexel's Center for Hunger Free Communities. There, she helps to fight food insecurity by equipping families to prepare and cook healthy meals at weekly Sunday suppers.

A man has been convicted in the slaying of a New Jersey radio show host in an alleged plot to prevent her from exposing a drug ring.

Jurors deliberated for two hours Tuesday before convicting Ferdinand Augello of murder, conspiracy, racketeering and other counts in the 2012 shooting of April Kauffman.

Atlantic County prosecutors say Augello and the woman's husband, Dr. James Kauffman, wanted to stop her from exposing a drug ring allegedly run by the doctor and members of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. Kauffman killed himself in jail in January while awaiting trial.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy Levy told jurors that Augello used his former co-defendants to protect and enrich himself.

Defense attorney Mary Linehan questioned the reliability of the state's witnesses. She says the state's evidence points to their star witness, Andrew Glick, a former gang official turned informant.

As the investigation of a car explosion that killed a father, his 2-year-old son and his friend in Allentown continues, the grandmother of one of the victims is defending her grandson as well as sharing her own theory regarding what happened.

"I do want answers. We all want answers," Kathleen Pond said. "That's probably the most important thing."

Pond's grandson, Jacob Schmoyer, 26, her great grandson, Jonathan Schmoyer, 2, and Jacob's friend David Hallman, 66, were all killed in the explosion Saturday night.

The deadly blast rocked the 700 block of West Turner Street in Allentown and shocked both witnesses and residents, several of whom described seeing body parts litter the street.

Three cars were removed from the scene, including the one that received the brunt of the blast, officials said.

Officials processed the crime scene but the investigation is ongoing. ATF officials sent materials down to their lab in Maryland and expect to get the results back Friday. Those results could help determine what exactly happened.

Pond believes the blast was accidental.

“If they were sitting there and talking about something, him and his friend Dave, and the car was idling and gas was going, it’s very conceivable to me,” she said. “It’s not unlikely because it’s happened that exhaust and gas can blow up a car.”

Investigators initially stated they believe someone targeted and intentionally blew up the car. Schmoyer's family refuted those claims however.

“He was a very loving father,” Pond said. “He would never have put his son intentionally in any kind of harm.”

Pond told NBC10 her son had an interest in fireworks and mechanics. He also worked as a carpet cleaner and often used cleaning chemicals.

"The interest in building computers, building phones, technology," she said. "He did like chemistry. He did like math."

Resurfaced comments from Jacob Schmoyer's Facebook page in 2010 have caused some to speculate on social media. The comments include threats and talk of combining chemicals. Pond said she doesn't expect outsiders to understand her grandson's sense of humor.

"He had a wacky sense of humor sometimes but we understood it because it was more of an intellectual humor," she said.

Candles and stuffed animals were left for Jacob and Jonathan outside their home. Family members said it's been difficult for them to grieve due to the comments on social media.

"It's tough for a lot of reasons," Pond said. "Not just their deaths but the way they died. The things I'm seeing and reading."

No arrests have been made as of Tuesday. Officials continue to investigate.

As mosquitoes thrive due to warmth and damp weather, New Jersey is dealing with one of its worst years ever for the West Nile Virus, which has already claimed two lives in the Garden State. Now mosquito testing labs are feeling the pressure. 

Last year proved to be one of the deadliest flu seasons in recent history. Now health officials are learning that it could be more of the same this year. We have tips on how to stay safe this flu season.

A viral video of police officers pointing their weapons at two Rowan University students and placing them in handcuffs after responding to a report of a gunman has sparked controversy.

The incident occurred Monday around 5 p.m. in the Mimosa Hall parking lot of Rowan University’s campus in Glassboro, New Jersey.

Glassboro police officers identified a vehicle they believed belonged to a person who was reportedly armed with a handgun, Rowan University officials said.

“Being that it was believed that one of the occupants of the vehicle had a gun, police followed procedures and drew their weapons until all the occupants exited the vehicle and were searched,” a spokesperson for Rowan University wrote to students.

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A video of the incident shows at least three officers pointing their weapons at the two students inside the car, identified as Altaif Hassan, a senior from Trenton, New Jersey, and Giovanna Roberson, a freshman from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

In the video, Hassan first steps out of the vehicle, raising his hands and walks backwards toward the police cruiser as the officers point their weapons at him. The officers then place him in handcuffs.

The officers then order Roberson to do the same and place her in handcuffs as well.

After searching the two students, the officers determined that neither of them were armed and they were released, Rowan University said.

Hassan later posted the video on his Facebook page.

“I can’t keep quiet like my voice doesn’t matter,” Hassan wrote. “I’m pressing hard. If you believe in the cause, share it for the culture. Everyone gotta know this kind of harassment needs to stop.”

Hassan’s video went viral and sparked controversy online.  

Rowan University’s Student Government Association sent a message stating they were in contact with Hassan and Roberson as well as “relevant university administrators.” A town hall meeting in which students will address their concerns regarding the incident is scheduled to take place Friday at 11 a.m. at Rowan University’s student center.

NBC10 reached out to the Glassboro Police Department for comment. A spokesperson told us to contact the police chief Wednesday morning for a statement.

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