Jacob Schmoyer, 26, and his two-year-old son Jonathan) died in the explosion on Saturday along with the toddler
The three victims of a deadly car explosion in Pennsylvania on Saturday have been identified as a father, his toddler son and a dog walker who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Jacob Schmoyer, 26, died along with his two-year-old son Jonathan and his 66-year-old ‘friend’ David Hallman when the vehicle exploded on North Hall Street at 9.30pm.
Before they were named, police said they believed the fire was intentional and that the person who set it died in the blast.
On Monday, officers refused to be drawn on whether it was Schmoyer or Hallman who was to blame for it.
They provided no motive for the killings nor would they say whether Hallman, who lived on the street, was actually in the car or nearby when it exploded.
All officers would say was that the two men were ‘friends’.
Shocking photographs and videos of the aftermath showed the car’s burning carcass in the middle of the street.
Investigators returned to the scene on Monday to continue combing through the evidence.
They removed two other cars along with the one which was set on fire as part of their probe.
Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms would not reveal what caused the explosion and they would not say what they recovered from the vehicle.
It has not even been made clear what type of car it was.
On Monday, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said all three victims died from traumatic injuries sustained in the blast.
Harrowing video footage of the aftermath of the explosion shows what remains of the car on fire in the street on Saturday night. It remains unclear why it was targeted
Schmoyer is pictured, left, with his partner Jasmine and an unidentified child) It is not clear what he did for work or how many children he had
The crime scene remained extremely active on Monday as authorities tried to piece together what happened. A third man, David Hallman, 66, also died. He was friends with Schmoyer, according to police
Authorities at the scene on Monday. Police said from the beginning that the explosion was deliberate and that the person who intended for it to happen died in the crash but they have not yet revealed whether that was Hallman or Schmoyer
Crime scene investigators inspect debris which appears to have flown from the blast site and landed on building
He did not rule the manner of death, saying that it would be decided once investigation into the incident is complete.
Neighbors who witnessed the explosion spoke of their horror on Saturday and Sunday.
‘I heard like some type of explosion and my building kind of like shook,’ one resident told NBC 4 i.
Another said they watched the car continue to move down the street even after it was set alight.
‘The car was still moving, you know, when it blew up, you know what I’m saying, because it was still traveling, it was still rolling and then it just burst into flames while it was still going,’ Anthony Sealy said.
Police described it definitively as a ‘criminal incident’ on Sunday and said ‘the perpetrator’ died in the crash.
ATF agents go door-to-door in Allentown on Monday to interview residents and gather evidence as part of the investigation. The crime scene was described as ‘large’ and police are continuing to conduct interviews
An ATF worker takes a photograph of evidence at the scene of the blast site on Monday, two days after the explosion
Workers in hazmat suits work at the scene of the blast on Monday