Police arrested a father and a daughter in connection with an Oct. 25 attack that included hitting a man with a bat and then shooting him in the leg on a South Philly street.

Carmen D'Amato, 62, and 36-year-old Rita D'Amato, both of the 900 block of South Front Street in Philadelphia, are facing aggravated assault and other charges.

The father, who is a well-known Mummer according to Philly.com, and his daughter surrendered to police Friday night after they arrest warrants were issued and they were contacted by authorities, according to officials.

Carmen -- armed with a handgun -- and Rita -- armed with a bat -- approached the unidentified 36-year-old victim around 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 25 near the intersection of 2nd and Carpenter streets in the Queens Village section of the city, investigators said.

Philadelphia Police released surveillance video of the attack earlier this week in the hopes of identifying the suspects, who can be seen talking to the man -- Carmen allegedly said, "you know what you did, you son of a b****!" -- moments before Rita struck him with a bat, according to officials.

The victim started to run away from the suspects, but Carmen chased him and began firing his gun, striking the man once in his left leg, authorities said.

The victim was treated for a broken leg at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Both father and daughter are due in court Nov. 18 for their preliminary hearings.

A masked man shot a 23-year-old man early Saturday morning as he waited for a friend to let him into a Philadelphia apartment building.

The victim texted his friend when he arrived at the residential property on the 1300 block of Wakeling Street in the city's Frankford neighborhood just before 1 a.m., according to police.

As the man waited outside the building to be let in, authorities said the gunman approached him and asked, "You ring the bell yet?"

When he replied no, the shooter pulled out a silver handgun and fired one shot, hitting the man in the chest, and then ran from the scene, according to investigators.

About a minute later, the friend opened the building's front door to find the victim wounded and on the ground, officials said. He told her to go back inside and call police.

The friend told authorities she had heard gunshots, but believed it to be normal for the area, according to authorities.

Medics rushed the victim to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition.

Police described the suspect as 5-feet 5-inches tall, 150 pounds, wearing a red mask and a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.

Trick-or-treating turned dangerous in one Montgomery County township on Halloween when a razor blade was found in a wrapped candy bar.

Brandon Gage, 13, was trick-or-treating near Woodlawn Drive and Walnut Lane in Towamencin Township Friday night. The boy told NBC10 he made a shocking discovery when he opened up a "fun-sized" candy.

"I opened it up and a box cutter knife or a razor blade just fell out of it," Brandon said.

The boy was not hurt during the incident. His mother, Jennifer Gage, called police Saturday morning.

"How did it get there?" Jennifer Gage asked. "I don't know if someone did it or if it was packaged like that or what."

Investigators told NBC10 they are not releasing the brand of candy the blade was found in because they want parents to check every piece. While there is no evidence that more tainted candy is out there, police are still warning parents to be cautious, check for foreign items and report anything suspicious. 

"The investigation is continuing on how the razor blade got into the wrapper," said Towamencin Township Police Sergeant John Cutrone. "She feels that it was sealed at the time. We don't know that at this moment but again we're going to look into that."

The school district also sent out an alert to parents.

"I think it's crazy," Jennifer Gage said. "To ruin an innocent holiday where kids dress up and get Halloween candy, and then to have to worry about razor blades."

Anyone with information should contact the Towamencin Township Police Department at 215-368-7606.

A 61-year-old man was struck and killed by a pickup truck in Lewes, Delaware Friday.

The incident occurred when the unidentified victim from Milford, Delaware along with 25-year-old Tomas J. Godinez-Cabrera were working on a home under construction on the 1800 block of Robinsonville Road around 1:40 p.m. Both men were employed by a Camden-Wyoming concrete company performing work at the site.

Godinez-Cabrera was in a pickup truck and backing out of the driveway but did not see the victim, according to investigators. The truck struck the man and ran him over. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Godinez-Cabrera was not injured during the incident.

The name of the victim has not yet been released. The Delaware State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate.

Jogging along a trail in a safe community, Leah Yingling carried just a few items, including her cell phone, when an attacker suddenly came upon her.

"When I thought of sexual assault, I thought of it as something that would never happen to me," she said.

Yingling was able to dial 911 and the call was enough to scare the assailant away. But her ordeal sparked an idea among some of her Carnegie Mellon University classmates.

"We saw how a sexual assault could really affect [our friends] lives," said Jayon Wang, CEO of LifeShel, which creates hardware and software that broadcast signals in distress situations.

Wang, a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon's engineering program, partnered with two friends to create LifeShel and the company's first product, Whistl -- a smartphone case that wirelessly connects to 911 dispatch when the phone's owner places their fingertips over two buttons simultaneously.

"We are taking 911 and trying to introduce it into the new age of data that we have access to," Wang said. "Previous models for 911 was to dial, connect and describe your situation."

Whistl speeds up the process by sending rescuers the users' pertinent personal information and their location based on the phone's GPS signal, sounding a 120-decibel alarm and emitting a bright light, while maintaining the look, feel and weight of a regular phone case, Wang said.

The buttons incorporate the same technology that allows smartphone users to select apps on the screen with their fingertip, but not, for instance, with a pencil.  "If it is in your purse or pocket, it won't be set off by another object," he said.

If someone mistakenly triggers Whistl, safeguards are in place.

"You will get an opportunity to swipe your personally selected safety color to prevent any alarms from being activated," Wang said. "If you select the wrong color, it will tell your phone you are being forced to swipe the wrong color or someone else did. Then it will turn off the noise alarm and the [light], but the hardware on the phone... will still be able to send the data to emergency responders to bring help to your location."

The trio presented the product at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia Oct. 18 -- receiving praise, as well as questions about the security of one's personal data and the choice to place the burden of preventing an assault on the potential victim.

Wang explained the information is encrypted to ensure its security and the phone case can contribute to the larger societal changes needed.

"How can we use technology to shift the needle in our culture?" he asked.

While he acknowledges the importance of education to reduce the number of assaults, Wang reasoned Whistl reminds its users and fellow community members of lessons learned.

"Education gives people the power to change all our worlds," he said.

"A hardware device that people could touch everyday," he continued, "that could show myself and my community I know the importance of prevention."

A retail price for the phone case, which several dozen people already preordered through LifeShel's Kickstarter campaign, is not yet set as the LifeShel team continues to work to cut costs, Wang said.

Whistl will be released in summer 2015.

A trial in the civil case against a former University of Pennsylvania professor who beat his wife to death in their suburban Philadelphia home is set to begin Monday.

The case seeks compensatory and punitive damages from Rafael Robb, a former Penn economics professor.

Robb, 64, bludgeoned his wife, Ellen Gregory Robb, to death with a metal chin-up bar as she was wrapping Christmas gifts back in December of 2006 inside their King of Prussia home. The couple’s daughter, who was 12-years-old at the time, was also inside the home. Prosecutors said Robb killed his wife in order to avoid a costly divorce. 

According to attorney Robert Mongeluzzi, the family is seeking to have Ellen Robb’s estate compensated and money provided for Ellen's daughter in the new civil case.

“Robb still has a hefty pension fund and investments,” Mongeluzzi said.

The couple’s daughter lived with Ellen Robb’s brother, Gary Gregory, after her mother’s death, according to Mongeluzzi. She is currently attending college.

Rafael Robb pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in November of 2007 and was sentenced to five to ten years in prison.

Robb was initially paroled in Nov. 2012. The victim's family publicly protested the decision. Gary Gregory told NBC10's Deanna Durante the family had tried over and over again to protest Robb's release in front of the parole board. Each time, he said, they were denied.

State Representative Mike Vereb stepped in on the family's behalf and convinced the Chairman of the Parole Board, Michael Potteiger, to meet with the family. Vereb, a Republican, said after researching the case, he'd determined that the parole board likely broke the law and violated the family's rights by not allowing them to speak before the board.

Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Tressler, who oversaw the case, called Ellen's murder one of the most horrific in the history of Montgomery County. He also wrote to the parole board to protest Robb's release. His letter included information about Robb's treatment of his daughter:

"Even more telling is his [Robb's] attempt to manipulate his grieving daughter into continuing her relationship with him by threatening to withhold financial support for her future. I fear his prison conduct and your judgment. About him not being a threat to the public is another example of his manipulation, this time to the parole board."

The board denied breaking any laws and said the responsibility of notifying families about appearing before the board belongs to the Office of the Victim Advocate. However, in January of 2013, the board rescinded their decision just four days before Robb was set to walk free and he remained in prison.

Robb’s daughter will testify during the trial with Hon. Thomas M. Del Ricci presiding. Jury selection and opening statements are scheduled for Monday.

"The family of Ellen Gregory Robb has waited eight years to have its day in court," Mongeluzzi said.

Mongeluzzi said he and his co-counsel will illustrate that the death of Ellen Gregory Robb was “so brutal, so heinous, it is beyond human comprehension.” Mongeluzzi also stated Ellen Robb’s family would not be able to find any closure or justice until “the circumstances of the killing and the facts of the case have finally been presented to a jury.”

"We have never lost faith in the American justice system and while we know the trial will be terribly painful, especially for my niece, this is what our beloved Ellen would have wanted,” Gary Gregory said.

Rafael Robb will remain incarcerated locally during the trial. The claims against him were brought under Pennsylvania’s wrongful death and survival acts.

Two days after a two-alarm fire engulfed a West Philadelphia apartment building and hurt two people, nearly two dozen residents are still without a home.

"I don't have a home," Christina Hill told NBC10 while in tears. "What are we going to do?"

Hill is one of the 66 residents who were displaced from the Chestnut Park Apartments.

The 5-story building, located at 62nd and Chestnut streets, went up in flames shortly around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Crews, who got the blaze under control at 1:08 a.m. Friday, rescued several residents who were trapped by the heavy smoke and flames.

Officials transported two people, including a firefighter, to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where they are in stable condition.

PECO shut power off to the building -- causing about 10 other nearby homes to lose power.

The displaced residents received assistance from the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Red Cross eventually closed the shelter it had set up Saturday night. Yet while residents who live on the west side of the complex were allowed to return, 22 families who live on the east side of the building, where the damage occurred, still can't go back.

"We're waiting for the property owner to come and tell us about some place safe for the families to relocate to," said Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes, CEO of the American Red Cross. "Until that happens the American Red Cross will be with those families. The landlord will address with them their options as far as other homes to live in. We're doing case work with each family to see what they need in terms of clothing."

Hill told NBC10 she and her neighbors were originally told their landlord would make other living arrangements by Saturday afternoon.

"I need some answers," Hill said. "I want answers! Realistic answers!"

NBC10 reached out to the building's manager Saturday but he declined to comment.

"As far as the manager's concerned, too many broken promises," said Richard Dunham, another displaced resident. "He kept saying he would be here. He hasn't showed up here."

As the wait continues, the anxiety grows for the displaced families.

"I'm homeless," Hill told NBC10. "I had a home! I want a home!" 

Even after a month and a half, Darla Dickson was confident the man accused of killing her son would be captured. Yet that didn't stop her from feeling emotional when the moment finally took place Thursday night.

"I cried," Darla said. "It was the end for me. It was like a completion."

Eric Frein is accused of killing Darla's son, 38-year-old Pennsylvania State Trooper Cpl. Bryon Dickson, and injuring Trooper Alex Douglass during an ambush shooting outside the Blooming Grove barracks back on Sept. 12.

Frein, 31, was arrested Thursday evening, 48 days after police began the manhunt.

After U.S. Marshals surprised the fugitive in a field on a defunct airport in the Pocono Mountains, they waited some 20 minutes to formally handcuff him, according to state police audio obtained exclusively by NBC10 investigative reporter Harry Hairston.

They waited because they wanted Bryon Dickson’s shackles to bind the accused shooter’s hands.

“To confirm, the subject will be held,” an unidentified member of law enforcement said over police radio. “Blooming Grove car 2 is in route with Cpl. Dickson’s handcuffs. He’ll be there in approximately 20 minutes so we’ll stand by until that takes place.”

After Dickson's murder, the cuffs were kept at all times in the possession of an on-duty member at the barracks, according to state police.

A sergeant from the Blooming Grove barracks, the same location where the shooting took place, drove Dickson's handcuffs — in the slain trooper's cruiser — 40 miles south to Frein’s hiding place at the Birchwood-Pocono Airpark in Tannersville. He then slapped the cuffs on Frein.

“Suspect's in custody, handcuffed,” the man said over the radio.

A short time later, Frein, an experienced survivalist who allegedly planned the ambush over a long period of time, was driven in Dickson's cruiser to the Blooming Grove barracks for questioning.

“One package in the back,” a man squawked as the caravan of state police vehicles wove through northeastern Pennsylvania on their way to the barracks.

When he arrived, a large contingent of heavily-armed troopers stood watch as he was led into the barracks, his hands behind his head. The arrest ended a $10-plus million manhunt and closed a chapter on the high-stakes investigation.

Darla Dickson said she never doubted her son's fellow troopers would find Frein.

"They honored Bryon as their brother," she said while fighting back tears. "He would be very proud of them. I'm very proud of them."

Frein is charged with first degree murder in Dickson’s death, attempted murder in the shooting of Trooper Douglass, and related weapons offenses. He is being held without bail under maximum security at the Pike County Correctional Facility following his arraignment Friday.

The suspect has spoken to investigators, but officials declined to discuss what was talked about. A knife and the hunting rifle authorities believe were used in the trooper attack were recovered at the airport, state police confirmed Thursday night.

The Pike County district attorney plans to seek the death penalty in the case.
 

If you're trying to cross the Delaware River on Sunday morning, avoid the Ben Franklin Bridge. The span will be closed for several hours for a charity run.

The bridge will be closed in both directions from 7:45 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. for the Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge.

A 10K run will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will be followed by a 2 mile walk and kids dash.

The pedestrian walkway will remain open, according to the Delaware River Port Authority.

Drivers looking to cross the river can use either the Walt Whitman Bridge or the Betsy Ross Bridge.

A teen is in critical condition after being shot in the head while inside a car in North Philadelphia.

The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday at Rising Sun Avenue and Tioga Street, Philadelphia Police said.

Bullets pierced both windows on the driver's side and hit an 18-year-old man in the head and hand, police said.

The victim arrived at Temple University Hospital in the car and remains there in critical condition.

Investigators say it's currently unclear whether the teen drove himself to the hospital after being shot. No word on suspects or a motive for the shooting.