Police in northern New Jersey are on the hunt for a man accused of firing a paintball gun at close range at a 14-year-old boy leaving him with painful bruises and welts all over his body.

The Paterson boy is traumatized following the attack, his mother says, because he thought the paintball gun was actually a real weapon.

“He’s actually nervous, traumatized,” the young teen’s mother, Carolina Vasquez, said, adding that her son has even suffered panic attacks.

The teen was left with dozens of bloody welts throughout his arms, legs and torso due to the surprise and unprovoked attack allegedly carried out by the older brother of a fellow eighth grader.

Remnants of the attack can still be seen on the stairs and entryway of the boy’s Paterson home, where he went to answer the door Monday night and got shot at with paintballs almost two dozen times.

“It’s been very difficult,” Vasquez said. “We’ve never been in a situation like this.”

The young teen had to be taken by ambulance to an area hospital following the attack to be treated for his wounds.

However, he is now afraid to go back to school – afraid that someone will come after him again.

There is no word yet on a motive in this case. Vasquez says she isn’t aware of her son being involved in any disputes that could have brought on this attack.

The alleged attacker is believed to be a man in his early 20s. Police have issued an arrest warrant. However, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, no arrest has been made at this time.

Courtesy of Public Citizens for Children and Youth, four Philadelphia schools received robot kits worth around $10,000. It's in an effort to turn classroom learning into real world experience for students.

A new mural on the Universal Institute Charter School in South Philadelphia honors civil rights hero Octavius Catto. He was a civil rights activist who was assassinated on South Street as he worked to secure voting rights for African-American citizens.

Ahead of the midterm elections in November, many wonder if a “Blue Wave” will sweep the country. Here’s a breakdown on what the phrase means and how many seats in Congress are potentially up for grabs.

A warning for drivers who go above the speed limit on Philadelphia’s busy Roosevelt Boulevard, you could soon be nabbed by technology.

Speed cameras could soon be installed along the boulevard.

The Pennsylvania Senate approved the speed camera pilot program, Senate Bill 172, Tuesday. Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to sign the measure within the next 10 days, auto club AAA Mid-Atlantic said.

Drivers will get a ticket if they go more than 11 miles an hour over the set speed limit, AAA said.

The area covered by cameras runs between 9th Street and the Bucks County line and fines will be $150 or less and can vary depending if it is a first, second or subsequent offense.

Warning signs must be posted and only warnings will be issued for the first 30 days, according to the measure.

House Transportation Committee Chair Rep. John Taylor, R-Philadelphia, helped get the legislation passed in the State House.

The multi-lane boulevard (U.S. Route 1) through Northeast Philly is one of the busiest and most dangerous stretches of highway in the city, AAA said.

“We believe automated speed camera systems, when implemented with AAA-supported motorist protections as outlined in SB 172, can contribute to the goal of reducing unnecessary fatalities and promoting traffic safety for all road users along Roosevelt Boulevard and in work zones across the state,” said Jana Tidwell, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

At least 14 people have died so far in 2018 and the boulevard typically makes up at least 10 percent of Philadelphia’s road deaths, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia said.

The bike coalition applauded the passage of the speed camera legislation as part of the Vision Zero plan to make City roads safer.

"This is a special victory for the residents of North Philadelphia who live near or drive on Roosevelt Boulevard," coalition executive director Sarah Clark Stuart said. "For too many years, this badly designed highway has allowed motorists to speed with impunity and cause fatalities that have wrecked families and communities."

The bill also allows PennDOT to install speed cameras in work zones on state highways over a five-year trial period. In 2015 alone there were nearly 2,000 work-zone crashes, including 23 deaths, bill sponsors Sen. David Argall, R-Berks/Schuylkill counties, and Sen. Judith Schwank, D- Berks County, said.

“We’ve heard from family members of highway workers who fear the lives of their loved ones,” Argall said. “We heard it loud and clear: protect the lives of workers and that’s what this bill will do.”

In work zones, drivers exceeding the speed limit by at least 11 mph when workers are present will receive a written warning for the first offense, a $75 fine for the second offense and a $150 fine for third and subsequent offenses.

“The goal is to change driver behavior and make motorists think twice before speeding in work zones that puts their lives and the lives of innocent workers at risk,” Argall added.

NBC10 has reached out to Philadelphia officials to find out exactly how they plan to implement the boulevard speed cameras.

The Philly Phanatic sailed in from the Galapagos Islands.

Swoop was an eagle granted better strength and vision — and, apparently, humanoid form — through the gift of an Eagles' jersey.

The Philadelphia Union’s Phang was a regular snake struck by lightning who then turned into a metal egg and was hatched anew at the Philadelphia Zoo, complete with arms, legs, and a gold Mohawk.

And Gritty, Philadelphia’s newest, er, monster, crawled out of a subterranean hole under the Wells Fargo Center, where he’d been lurking (and chowing down on Flyers hot dogs) for years.

In other words, the mascot hype in Philadelphia is bigger than ever. And now, SEPTA wants in.

The transportation authority tweeted Monday morning: "…What if #SEPTA had a mascot? Tell us what it should be [please be nice]."

Among the suggestions that came flooding in via social media were a sloth, a snail, and a delayed train. Others in the twitterverse suggested a rat, a bedbug, and "Gritty in a SEPTA uniform". Still others tweeted variations on the question “doesn’t SEPTA already have a mascot?”

The answer is — sort of. SEPTA’s "safety mascot", Paws, is an anthropomorphic dog with a train conductor uniform. He apparently wasn’t consulted on the mascot-contest idea.

Besides, SEPTA wants a creative origin story for its mascot, and Paws doesn’t have one.

So if you have the creativity SEPTA is looking for, and a mascot design to boot, you’re encouraged to enter SEPTA's contest. The grand prize is a November Anywhere TrailPass, and ten runners-up will receive a SEPTA t-shirt. The submission period ends October 24, so you better hurry.

A man was killed while four others were injured in a drive-by shooting outside a shopping center in the Germantown section of Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon.

The five young men, ages 19 through 23, were outside a Dollar General store on Germantown Avenue and Wister Street around 3 p.m. when a white Chevrolet Impala pulled up in front of them, police said.

A gunman inside the vehicle fired 18 shots. One of the victims was shot in the head. The other four were shot in the hands, arms and feet.

"It wasn't like an argument or anything going on first," Timina Hughes, a witness, told NBC10. "It was just the shots came out of nowhere."

All five victims were taken to the hospital. Police say a 20-year-old man who was shot in the head later died from his injuries. The other four men are expected to survive.

Officials have not yet released a description of the suspect.

"I can assure you it's about something stupid. Just like most things are," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said. "But right now we've got a lot of unanswered questions."

Ross believes the five men were targeted.

"They weren't just randomly shooting," Ross said. "They knew who they were shooting at. The question is why."

If you have any information on the shooting, please call Philadelphia police.

A woman was sexually assaulted in an apartment complex parking lot in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, on Monday night as she was meeting someone through a dating app, police said.

The woman, 19, made arrangements to meet someone through the dating app Tinder, police said.

She told police that she was attacked by an unknown man in the Lynnwood Gardens apartments at about 7:30 p.m. in the Elkins Park area of Cheltenham Township.

The sexual assault took place in a secluded parking lot behind garages, police said.

Police said the woman “was lured to the area” in a statement, but they are still investigating the link between who the victim was talking to on the dating app and the attacker.

This isn’t the first time that dating apps have been linked with predatory behavior. In July, officials arrested a man suspected of killing women in New York and Connecticut he met on Tinder and other dating apps.

Cheltenham Police Detectives are continuing to investigate. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact them at 215-885-1600 x499.

A nearly century old stadium is being renovated after being home to many high school games over the years. Baynard Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware, has been falling apart for years but is about to get a multi-million dollar makeover.

A man was stuck with a large bill for a plumbing job that was never completed. So he reached out to NBC10 Responds for help.

Unseasonably warm weather is impacting New Jersey cranberry farmers. We take a look at that as well as other challenges the farmers are facing. 

The Catasauqua Police Department in the Lehigh Valley became the first in the state of Pennsylvania to arm officers with weapons that have cameras mounted on them. The cameras will provide an unobstructed view every time a weapon is drawn.

One West Chester driver’s check engine light wouldn’t have lit up for this bizarre maintenance problem.

An 8 to 10 foot snake was found in the engine compartment of a driver’s vehicle Tuesday night. The driver spotted the reptile slither into the engine and immediately contacted the West Chester Police Department.

Responding to the call, police found the massive snake inside the engine compartment of the vehicle. They carefully removed the animal, and returned it to its owner.

[[495106221, C]]

A suddenly close race between New Jersey's incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and the wealthy former pharmaceutical executive challenging him could end up dashing any hopes Democrats have of taking control of the Senate in the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

Republican Bob Hugin spent all summer flooding the airwaves with political ads. Some observers believe he could eventually spend up to $40 million of his personal wealth in the bid to unseat Menendez.

And his efforts are paying off.

Two polls released in the first week of October show that Hugin has closed the gap with Menendez to only a few points.

"You don't have to go too far back, like June, when a poll had Hugin down 17 points," said Al Gaburo, the Republican chairman in Somerset County. "This summer, Bob Hugin has really closed the gap. For him to be within the margin of error on Oct. 1 is really, really good news."

It's not good news, however, for Democrats nationally. The improbable, but not impossible, prospects of a Democratic Senate majority requires incumbents like Menendez, who is seeking his third term, to win re-election — and then defeating a few Republicans in toss-up races.

"Their path to the Senate (majority) is tough to begin with," senior editor Jennifer Duffy of the non-partisan Cook's Political Report said. "If they suddenly lost New Jersey, then I think it's game over."

Throughout the summer, excitement among Democrats centered on reclaiming control of Congress by flipping roughly 25 to 40 U.S. House seats from red to blue.

A path to taking control of the Senate is more challenging, despite the current razor-thin 50-49 advantage for Republicans, because 26 of the 35 seats up for election are held by Democrats.

Much effort is being exerted on toss-up races, with the expectation that a "blue wave" would carry the day for incumbents in states like New Jersey.

Did that leave Menendez, who just last year faced a federal corruption trial, overlooked and vulnerable?

"Most people thought Menendez would win despite his problems," Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute said in September. 

A poll by Farleigh Dickinson University released Oct. 3 found Menendez's lead is down to six points among likely voters.

Hugin spent almost $9 million before the summer months even began heating up, according to his June 30 federal campaign filing. When the next campaign finance reports are made public in mid-October, some observers believe the tally may reach $25 million. And that'll be before the final five weeks are totaled. Menendez spent about $4 million, according to his June 30 filing.

Hugin's willingness to use his own money to fuel his campaign has given the Republican Party's national leaders the luxury to spend money elsewhere.

The former chief executive of Celgene, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant, has long been involved in Republican cash flow. He was a top donor to Gov. Chris Christie during his eight years as governor and served as finance committee member for President Trump in 2016.

He is a former Marine who went to Princeton University and comes from the same town as Menendez: Union City in Hudson County.

Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, cut his teeth rising through the ranks of the Hudson County Democratic Party. He served as mayor of his hometown, then spent time in the New Jersey legislature and as a congressman before being elected to the Senate in 2006. He is the first Latino American to serve New Jersey as a senator.

His resume from the 12 years in the Senate include a seat on the powerful Foreign Relations Committee and work as a liaison to Cuba during President Obama's move to re-establish diplomatic ties. Menendez also was part of the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan panel that worked on immigration reform in 2013.

But Menendez is seeking voters' support a year after he fought federal corruption charges in a case that ended in mistrial. The trial played out over several weeks in late 2017, and gave Hugin plenty of political firepower for attack ads.

Despite the one-sided spending on television ads, Democrats believed their 900,000-voter advantage in New Jersey would provide Menendez with enough of a cushion in an election year that many predict will be a referendum on the Trump administration's policies.

In both of the recent polls of New Jersey voters, those surveyed said Trump plays a large role in both how they will evaluate the candidates on the ballot and how enthusiastic they are about voting.

As has often been the case in the midterm elections of first-term presidents, what happened in the White House the previous two years looms large.

Menendez's camp still sees a clear path to victory, his spokesman said.

"There will be more ads, more concentration on TV, the internet on all the different platforms. He's certainly out there now and that's going to increase," campaign spokesman Steve Sandberg said. "His record really speaks for itself. We'll be able to remind people of his message and also compare and contrast him to Bob Hugin."

If the polls, one conducted by Stockton University and the other by FDU, have given new urgency to Menendez's campaign, they have also excited Hugin's people.

"Bob Hugin continues to gain momentum, while corrupt, career politician Bob Menendez remains one of the most unpopular incumbents in the country," said Campaign Manager Stacy Schuster.

Duffy, the analyst for Cook's Political Report, believes Menendez remains the front-runner, if no longer a prohibitive favorite.

Asked about the path to a Senate majority for Democrats, she said they must win six of the eight races that are looking like "Toss-ups" five weeks before the election.

Four of those races involve Democratic incumbents: 

• Bill Nelson of Florida
• Joe Donnelly of Indiana
• Claire McCaskill of Missouri
• Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota

The other four include two Republican incumbents and two open seats previously held by Republicans:

• John McCain's open seat in Arizona
• Dean Heller of Nevada
• Retiring Bob Corker's open seat in Tennessee
• Ted Cruz of Texas

Like Menendez in New Jersey, nothing can be taken for granted in national politics between now and Nov. 6, Duffy said. Cook's currently has the New Jersey race as "Likely Democrat."

"And the map is getting a bit more volatile, largely because of (the Supreme Court nominee) Brett Kavanaugh," she said. "Does Montana move to Toss Up? Does West Virginia move back? Do Democratic prospects dim in Tennessee and Texas?"

For a complete layout of the 35 Senate seats on ballots in November, see a full breakdown here.

A woman was stabbed three times in a possible road rage incident in the Lawndale section of Philadelphia.

The 33-year-old woman was on the 300 block of Levick Street around 7 p.m. Wednesday when she was stabbed once in the back, once in the left shoulder and once in the left hand. She was taken to Einstein Hospital where she is in stable condition.

Police made an arrest in connection to the stabbing and recovered a weapon. They have not yet revealed the suspect’s identity or what led to the incident. They say it may have been the result of road rage however.

A brother and sister were charged and a third suspect remains at large in connection to the murder of a woman whose body was found wrapped in a carpet nearly a year ago in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Carmen Morales-Feliciano, 25, is charged with first and second degree murder as well as aggravated assault. She is also, along with her brother, Christopher Morales-Feliciano, 22, and Christian Carmona Llanos, 26, charged with abuse of corpse, criminal conspiracy, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

The brother and sister are already in the Berks County Jail on unrelated charges. Police are currently searching for Carmona-Llanos.

On Oct. 8, 2017, police discovered the body of Madison Marie Walb, 23. Walb's body was found along the roadside and wrapped in a carpet on the 200 block of Riegel Road in Lower Heidelberg Township, Pennsylvania. Her death was ruled a homicide and investigators determined she died from a single gunshot wound to the head. 

Berks County Police interviewed a friend who had spoken with Walb hours before her death. They also looked through surveillance video.

The video showed Walb walking from a restaurant on the 800 block of Penn Street in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the early morning hours of Oct. 6, 2017.

Walb is then seen entering a first floor apartment on 800 Franklin Street at 1:05 a.m. that morning. Around 40 minutes later, Carmen and Christopher Morales-Feliciano are seen exiting the apartment, police said. Christopher Morales-Feliciano and Carmona-Llanos then enter the apartment building about an hour later, according to investigators.

A short time later, Christopher Morales-Feliciano and Carmona-Llanos are seen on surveillance video removing a rolled up carpet out of a side window onto South 8th Street in Reading. An arm appears to be protruding from the end of the carpet, police said.

The video shows them placing the carpet inside a vehicle and then driving away, according to investigators.

During the investigation, Berks County detectives interviewed another witness who claimed they had a conversation with Carmen Morales-Feliciano in which she allegedly admitted to shooting Walb in the head.

Morales-Feliciano allegedly told the witness she, her brother and Carmona-Llanos disposed of Walb's body. Carmen Morales-Feliciano then returned to 800 Franklin Street and opened up a "Trap House" to continue selling drugs, police said. Surveillance video shows her selling drugs both before and after Walb's death, according to investigators.

If you have any information on Carmona-Llanos' location, please call the Berks County District Attorney's Detective Unit at 610-478-7171 or Berks County Crime Alert at 877-373-9913.

LeSean McCoy’s ex-girlfriend says in a new court filing that the Buffalo Bills running back physically abused her and orchestrated a home invasion that left her beaten and bloodied.

Delicia Cordon on Tuesday filed an amended lawsuit against McCoy alleging physical abuse during their nearly two-year relationship. She also accuses him of arranging a July 10 attack at a home McCoy owns in Milton, just outside Atlanta, where Cordon lived. The armed intruder demanded specific pieces of jewelry McCoy had given Cordon and repeatedly asked her to return, the lawsuit said.

The amended lawsuit seeks more than $50 million in damages.

Cordon and McCoy began dating in June 2016, but problems began following the 2016 NFL season when he became physically abusive, the amended lawsuit says.

“He would often grab (Cordon) in a manner that was painful and would leave (her) skin reddened,” it says. “McCoy did not care who was around when he would become enraged. McCoy once physically kicked (Cordon) out of the bed.”

McCoy has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and did so again when speaking to reporters after practice Wednesday.

“I can’t control that,” he said when asked about Cordon’s new allegations. “The only thing I can do is focus on my team, try and get better, and let things off the field take care of themselves.”

He said he’s been “proclaiming innocence since Day 1.”

To make up for his bad behavior, the amended lawsuit says, McCoy would apologize and buy Cordon gifts. But when they argued, he would demand that she return jewelry he’d given her.

According to the lawsuit, Cordon loved McCoy and believed he loved her, so she “sought to make their relationship work despite the fact that McCoy was physically abusive to her.” She also didn’t want to damage his reputation as an NFL player and hadn’t revealed the alleged abuse before filing the amended lawsuit, it says.

Cordon’s original lawsuit, filed Aug. 10, didn’t mention physical abuse against her. It also didn’t directly accuse McCoy of playing a role in the home invasion. Instead, it accused him of breaching his duty to protect her because he owned the home. It also alleged McCoy “permitted a hazardous condition to exist” by having his friend and personal assistant Tamarcus Porter install a new security system and cameras in June and denying her access to arm the system.

The version filed Tuesday says McCoy, through Porter, “arranged for the assailant” who attacked Cordon and her friend, Elizabeth Donald, to come into the home to retrieve the jewelry McCoy had repeatedly demanded Cordon return.

Donald has also sued McCoy and Porter.

Milton police have not arrested anyone in the home invasion. They said in a statement last month that detectives had “encountered numerous obstacles by all involved” and had noticed multiple inconsistencies from people who had provided statements. In an automatic response to an email seeking an update Wednesday, Capt. Charles Barstow said “despite multiple requests, Mr. McCoy has been unavailable to speak directly to detectives.”

The new version of the lawsuit also expands on Cordon’s previous allegations that McCoy abused his young son and dog. Stephanie Maisonet, the mother of McCoy’s young son, said in a sworn statement filed in the case that McCoy had physically abused the boy. McCoy responded in a statement on Twitter at the time, calling the allegations “provably false, outrageously inaccurate and offensive.”

An Abington Township teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student is out on bail.

Thomas Kummer posted his $250,000 bail Wednesday. He's been ordered to have no contact with the student or any unsupervised contact with people under the age of 18.

Kummer, a Latin teacher at Abington Senior High School, was charged Sunday with corruption of a minor, sexual assault of a minor, unlawful contact with a minor and other related offenses.

Investigators say Kummer began a sexual relationship with one of his students during a class trip to Italy over the summer in which he served as a chaperone.

Police were tipped off about a possible relationship between Kummer and the student last week. They then notified the girl's mother and examined the girl's computer, according to officials.

Police say they found at least 290 messages between Kummer and the girl.

"You need to delete everything," Kummer allegedly texted the girl.

"I've fallen in love with you," Kummer allegedly told the girl in another message.

Police also charged Kummer with various drug-related offenses after finding marijuana in his home during a search Sunday night, investigators said.

During a court appearance, Kummer asked the judge to lower his bail, telling her he is the caretaker for his cancer-stricken father and that he was worried about his college-aged daughter.

The judge denied Kummer's request for lowered bail however, saying that she considered him a flight risk due to a message he allegedly sent to the student stating that he was thinking of running away.

Kummer also told the judge he had been a teacher in the Abington School District for 23 years and hadn't had any problems.

In March of 2000 however, he was charged with terroristic threats, simple assault as well as a summary offense of harassment. According to a criminal docket however, Kummer successfully completed the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program and was never convicted of any of those offenses.

A spokesperson for the Abington School District told NBC10 that under state law in 2000, Kummer was not required to report those types of criminal offenses and the district had no knowledge of it.

The spokesperson said the district learned about the initial charges against Kummer in November of 2015, about a decade and a half later.

“In the absence of a reasonable belief that an employee was arrested or convicted for an offense required to be reported under the School Code, the District had no right to compel its employees to allow the District to obtain updated background checks,” the spokesperson wrote.

“State law in 2015 did not provide any basis for the District to terminate the employee based on charges for which Mr. Kummer was not convicted.”

Abington School District Assistant Superintendent Jefferey Fecher announced the charges in a letter to parents. Fecher said school district officials are cooperating with Abington Township Police and Kummer was suspended from his teaching position.

Parents with any information on Kummer are asked to contact Detective Cindy Pettinato at 267-536-1098. 

A student who was injured in a brawl on a SEPTA train is speaking out as concerns about safety continue to rise.