The three people who were killed in the car explosion in Allentown, Pennsylvania, were identified on Monday as a father, his 2 year old son, and an elderly person who was the friend of the father.
Scott Grim, the Lehigh County Coroner said that 66-year-old David Halman, 26-year-old Jacob Schmoyer and 2-year-old Jonathan Schmoyer were killed in the blast on Saturday night. The explosion had rocked Pennsylvania’s third-largest city. The cause of the explosion is still not clear and remains under investigation.
A special agent in charge with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Donald Robinson told reporters that Halman and the elder Schmoyer were good friends. He however declined to comment further on their relationship.
Jim Martin, the Lehigh County District Attorney on Sunday described the explosion as a criminal incident and said that that authorities are very confident that the perpetrator died in the explosion. Robinson of the ATF however said on Monday that the explosion could be anything from an accident to an explosive device. It was not quite clear whether the ATF believed either Halman or Jacob Schmoyer had intentionally caused the explosion. Martin did not say anything at Monday’s news conference.
Investigators again returned to the spot of the explosion early on Monday. They had about 30 of them combing the scene and most of them were from the ATF. Some were even wearing hazmat suits.
Robinson had told that agents had removed three cars to continue examining any kind of evidence. He had also added that the scene would be likely cleared later on Monday.
Officials had issued a statement that the blast was believed to have been an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
