we're still trying to figure out what that was at this point in time. again, have not located a gun so unfortunately there's nothing about the investigation that suggests it was a gun at this time but we are still looking. >> reporter: as for how many shots were fired by the nine officers. >> as of right now that count is 109 shots fired. >> reporter: at this point commissioner ross thinks this might have been a case of something called contagious fire. in a high stress situation one officer fired first others reacted. >> other officers hear gunfire and they believe they are now under fire and that they return fire in this case firing multiple times as i said 109 rounds that we've counted thus far. >> reporter: again a continuing investigation at this point. apparently the nine officers have not been interviewed so far. back to wednesday night it's believed that sowell attacked his victims using a pair of knives. those victims remain hospitalized but the commissioner says they appear to be improving. live at the police headquarters, john rawlins channel6 "action news." monica. >> thank you john. the price of gas in new jersey is going up. the on again off again hike in the gas tax is on again. governor chris christie and legislative leaders agreed late today on a 23-cent a gallon boost in the gas tax. that is the first increase in 28 years. it will raise $2 billion a year to pay for highway projects and mass transit. the bill also includes elimination of the estate tax and a slight roll back in the state sales tax. there is literally a sinking feeling near bethlehem's historic downtown tonight. the discovery of a large sinkhole forced the evacuation of six city blocks. three homes are now condemned. this is happening in the 700 block of north new street. "action news" reporter bob brooks has the story. >> reporter: with gas lines -- when gas lines break it's dangerous. that's why the 700 block of north new street is now closed. yesterday every home within a three-block radius was evacuated and some now sadly are even condemned. several portions of the ground below suddenly eroded and severed the pipes below. >> yesterday was mayhem. >> reporter: carol enter shot works at a doctor's office on new street and she's hopeful things get fixed soon. >> i hope it gets fixed soon. we have to work. >> reporter: she also feels terrible for neighbors who have lost their homes now. >> lady next door was packing a suitcase. >> reporter: it started early yesterday when neighbors called the city after the smell of gas filled the air. >> we found there's voids under the he street causing the gas and water line to break. >> reporter: once engineers realized portions eroding a three block radius was evacuateed. >> ground penetrating radar checked the extent of the voids before we can say it's safe. >> reporter: city officials say this isn't one giant sinkhole that the ground underneath the road broke apart in several sections. that's why the piping underneath is cracked in several sections. why it might take a little while to get everything patched up. >> very tough situation. we're trying to work as quickly as we can. >> reporter: the good news is city officials say the erosion is under control. neighbors are being asked to have patience until the work is done. you can see crews, they're not stopping. no breaks today its been all hands-on deck. they're getting this problem fixd as quick as they can and unfortunately i am hearing from the people that have had their homes condemned they can't go back in until they're brought up to code. for now reporting in bethlehem bob brooks channel6 "action news." >> the hoboken terminal remains closed today as ntsb investigators got to work trying to figure out what caused a train to barrel into that station yesterday. the ntsb says they did find one data recorder in the locomotive. they're searching for a second one near the front of the train but it's been hard to reach because of the wreckage. 34-year-old fab yellow bittar de kroon was on the platform. she died after being hit by flying deb he bree. more than 100 other people were injured and investigators have requested an interview with the engineer. world news tonight with david muir will have the latest from hoboken next here on 6abc. that is right after "action news." funeral services were held today for two firefighters who died in a row home fire in hockessin delaware last weekend. the firefighters were trapped in a basement when the first floor collapsed. today family and friends remembered the heroes who touched so many lives. vernon odom live in hockessin tonight with more. vernon. >> reporter: good evening, monica. here in hockessin the service for jerry fickes jr. has wrapped up within the last few minutes. it was a far smaller event than the one in wilmington at midday. >> ♪ >> reporter: a day full of pageantry combined with enormous sorrow funeral services for two heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. wilmington firefighters lieutenant christopher leach and senior firefighter jerry fickes jr. hundreds of delaware residents and fellow wilmington firefighters came out with representatives from fire departments as far away as boston. this retired deputy he chief knew both men. >> a horrible death the way they went down. this is amazing tribute. i've seen guys from boston, new york, so they're coming from everywhere like we always document the mass for lieutenant leach was held at saint elizabeth catholic church his home parish with hundreds here the fire marshal had to leave some outside. >> he grew up to be the sort of adult that many of us including some of us 25 years older would like to be. >> reporter: later today in hockessin many of the same mourners came to the grace memorial lutheran church for a final viewing. then a private service for family friends and wilmington firefighters. beatriz fana ruiz the woman accused of starting the fire remains in jail charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of arson. the two firefighters charged back into the inferno believing others were trapped inside. >> it does in some ways represent the worst of people but when you think about these firefighters, what they do everything they he give up that they rush in to help each other it's the best of people. >> reporter: a joint public memorial will be held tomorrow in wilmington at the chase center on the waterfront at 1 o'clock. monica, fire department spokesman tells me tonight they expect vice president joseph biden to attend that ceremony tomorrow in wilmington. live in hockessin, i'm vernon odom channel6 "action news." >> thank you vernon. family friends and fans are gathering right now ardmore to pay respects to soap opera creator agnes nixon. a viewing is being held tonight. nixon was a long time resident of the main line and the creator of abc's all my children and one life to live. both were set in fictional towns in the philadelphia suburbs. a funeral mass will be held at 10:30 tomorrow morning at saint thomas of villanova clap pell in rosemont. nixon by the way was 93 years old. there's a bed bug infestation in new jersey's capitol tonight. the bugs have actually turned up in three state buildings in trenton. one of the locations happens to be the department of health of all things on east state street. the bed bugs have also been found at the richard hughes justice complex on market street and the labor building at john fitch plaza. those offices were closed earlier this week for inspection and treatment. some workers have resorted to covering their own coats and chairs in plastic and keeping their belongings boxed up trying to keep the bed bugs away. the valley forge tourism and convention board commemorated pope francis' visit one year ago by making good on a promise. the board collected more than 1700 pounds of food in their over to the tackle hunger in montgomery county. chef mike baumann prepared a meal at the baptist soup kitchen in celebration today. coming up on "action news" tonight it is the phillies final weekend of play and the last at bat for ryan howard. jaime apody with more on the end of an era. >> a local college student set an iphone -- said an iphone exploded in his pocket in class this morning burning a hole in his jeans i'm katherine scott in mount laurel with that story coming up. >> i'm tracking more rain for part of your weekend. in the meantime matthew is now a dangerous category four hurricane. i'll have new information on its track in the accuweather 7-day forecast. >> those stories and much more when "action news" continues tonight. >> ♪ does pat toomey speak for you? i also want to thank the nra for it's, uh, strong support for my campaign. pat toomey: he opposes an assault weapons ban and got an "a" rating from the nra. "i have had a perfect record with the nra." and on women's health? "i would support legislation in pennsylvania that would ban abortion, and i would suggest that we have penalties for doctors who perform them." pat toomey: does he really speak for you? senate majority pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. when pat toomey went to wasworking for wall street... toomey's plan would risk social security on the stock market, lining bankers' pockets with fees from our benefits that... could total billions, even if the market crashes, and seniors lose everything. katie mcginty is working for us. a mother of three, and ninth of ten kids, mcginty knows what matters. she'll fight for equal pay, affordable college, and... she'll always protect social security. dscc is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> scary scenario for one student at rowan college at burlington county today. when this cell phone started smoking in his pocket during charles. the young man is lucky he didn't get seriously injured especially since so many others have been hurt. "action news" reporter katherine scott has details. >> reporter: charred and broken this is what's left of this iphone 6 plus after darren said it exploded in his back pocket. burning a whole in his jeans. >> i felt this crazy hot burning in my leg. >> reporter: he had been reaching for a pen. >> right as class was starting my phone started smoking in my pocket and it was on fire. >> out of nowhere we hear a fizzing and pong sound and sudden al gray massive smoke comes out from his pockets. >> reporter: classmate rebecca bookbinder had been sitting nearby. >> everyone is like what is that. then he we realized that's his phone that just com busted in the middle of class. >> it was super hot. grabbed it put it on the ground. lie to kick it. it was on fire. >> reporter: a school spokesperson confirm a teacher said when public safety arrived to the classroom the fire was already out but the smell of smoke remained in the air. recently samsung recalled its galaxy note7 smartphones after finding some batteries had exploded or caught fire. apple says they can't comment at this time but will investigate the claim. customer safety is of the utmost importance. darren said the phone battery was dead and it was not plugged in. >> i had it for about six months and the only thing that was wrong with it was a simple crack but i don't see a simple crack causing it to blow up in my pocket. >> reporter: as for rebecca she says her classmate is lucky he wasn't hurt. >> if you were on phone call sitting on your bed on a stack of papers. it could do a lot more damage than burning a hole in your market. he was fortunate. >> reporter: in mount laurel katherine scott channel6 "action news. >> penn state abington officially has a new chancellor tonight. damian jay fernandez is a distinguished teacher scholar and administrator from new york. he was named as chancellor in july. fernandez was officially installed in a convocation. he replaces karen while lee stanford who retired after more than 20 years at penn state. i think my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament. i'd like to punch him in the face, i'll tell you. i would bomb the [bleep] out of 'em. i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters, okay? and you can tell them to go [bleep] themselves. get him out of here! get him out of here! get the hell out of here! priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. priorities usa action is responsible >> jamie is here with sports saying goodbye to ryan howard. >> phillies -- i-the and of an era. phillies final weekend of the season will also mark the and of an era with ryan howard likely to play his final game in a phillies 82 and form. there will no longer be a player on this team who had a game called by harry kalas. jeff skversky on arguably the biggest piece in one of phillies history. >> reporter: ryan howard is the longest tenured athlete in this city 13 seasons with the phillies he's done it all rookie of the year m.v.p. and of course he helped win this team a world series and phillies fans will get a chance to say thank you this weekend as howard is expected to be in the starting line upall weekend against the mets including tonight he is batting fifth and playing first. let's take a look at ryan howard's locker cleaning it out likely for the final time. the phillies are expected to buy howard out of his contract as soon as the season is over. they have a $10 million buyout. they could exercise in his contract. howard has not been very sentimental about what is expected to be his final season as a fill. he's not wanted to talk about it too much. but fellow first baseman tommy joseph believes this will be a special weekend deep down for ryan howard. >> i think i mean what his emotions are every day he's going to have a great outlook on the day and he's probably not going to show too much emotion. i'm sure you'll see that big smile that we've seen so much over the years and, you know, just looking forward to the phillies organization and the phillies fans showing him the respect that he's earned in this city. >> ryan howard the greatest first base plan in philadelphia phillies history and the team plans to honor howard before sunday's game at 2:30 right here at the ballpark and it will be a long ovation similar to what jimmy rollins and others have received like chase utley when they have returned. we're live at the ball park jeff skversky channel6 "action news". jaime. >> thank you jeff. so much excitement surrounding the sixers. this is the last thing he we need. ben simmons is already hurt. sixers number one draft pick rolled his rider ankle during their scrimmage at training camp at stockton university today. simmons was taken for testing. we still don't know the severity of the injury but he is now unlikely to play in their preseason opener on tuesday on a positive note joel embiid will make his debut tuesday according to brett brown. temple owls getting set for their conference opener tomorrow against smu. the mustangs the team temple beat last greer low he scoring affair 60 to 40 sarcasm. both teams two and two and it's all conference games from here on out for the owls which elevates the level of play. >> it's important for guys to understand the importance of conference wins and conference losses and conference play. and so we have lots of teams in our -- not lots a double that have already played one or two conference games and we've played none but i don't look at anything as a fresh start. with the team hey we just keep moving forward. >> i sat down with the coach to preview this conference matchup with smu. you can see that tomorrow morning at 9:45 on temple football playbook right here on channel6. there's a local game tonight o and two penn will play their ivy league opener at two and o dartmouth. it's high school friday and jeff skversky will be back from the ballpark for all the area action on high school huddle right after "action news" at 11:00. never a good time for a dreary rainy day like today but especially bad on race weekend. qualifying canceled in dover today for sunday's sprint cup race. martin true wex jr. will start second. you cannot drive when the track is flooded with water. >> definitely not. thank you jaime. septa salute add collective 11,000 years of service today. the tran portertation authority held its annual luncheon at jefferson station honoring 367 retirees. 29 of them have amassed more than 40 years of service with septa. each retiree's name and employee number now appears on the wall of honor. cecily tynan here. how soon will the dreary days be over. >> it will get better. i wouldn't call 850 life 50 weekend but 75-25. sunday afternoon will be pretty decent. >> okay. >> we have to wait a little bit longer. storm tracker6 live double scan showing at least we're not dealing with heavy rain out there but we do have some areas of drizzle and plenty of clouds and definitely cool temperatures and we have gotten a lot of rain in parts of our viewing area since wednesday but this shows you it's all about location. areas north and east of philadelphia not much. one to 2 inches of rain. we needed it. but then progressively more rain the farther to the south you go. south of dover, southern kent county sussex county some areas seven to 12-inches of rain. that did cause localized flooding. now we have another round that will be moving through overnight. temperature-wise the high today 63. that's 9 degrees below. no it was cold. it was damp. 62 in philadelphia. allentown only 57. cape may 65 and wilmington currently 63. now satellite6 along with action radar showing that low pressure cut off continues to spin over kentucky but it's starting to weaken. it will move to the north and then it will pass over us but then we've got this area of rain that's heading up off the coast of the carolinas. that will be moving through overnight early tomorrow morning. future tracker showing looks like a focus of this rain will be across southern delaware early tomorrow morning around 8:30. some heavy rain. then as we head through the day much like today we'll see plenty of clouds, some areas of spotty showers, temperatures will be stuck in the 60's. even sunday morning we'll have clouds, some drizzle early in the morning but then as we head into the afternoon, getting much better. by 3 o'clock, we will see some peeks of sunshine, drying out. the sprint cup at dover is at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. you can see actually some sunshine there so we will gradually be improving as we head through the weekend. hurricane matthew just exploded today. yesterday morning it was just a tropical storm. now it's a category four hurricane, a major hurricane packing 140 miles an hour maximum sustained winds. if you look right here you can see a clearly defined eye. right now it is drifting to the south-southwest 9 miles per hour very slowly. however, it is expected to make that turn to the north and then gradually head towards jamaica and cuba hitting the island of jamaica early on monday so monday afternoon hitting cuba by tuesday as a category three or category two hurricane. this will cause a lot of rain. more than a foot of rain along the path. could cause some deadly mudslides and then it heads into the bahamas. where it goes from then very much up in the air. will it hit the outer banks? will it head out to sea or stu in the bahamas for a while? at this point it's too early to tell. i'll continue to watch it. you can track the storm on 6abc.com. the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast tomorrow is a gloomy day cloudy and cool and damp some of the heavier rain in the morning across south jersey. 69 degrees the high. sunday morning clouds breaking for some sunshine so getting better. temperature responds 75 degrees. should be a dry start to rosh hashana and monday october warmth. 77 degrees, partly sunny skies. we cool off to more seasonable temperatures on tuesday and wednesday, low 70's. decent amount of sun mixing with clouds. thursday a nice day partly sunny and friday morning clouds give way to increasing -- or morning sun giving way to increasing clouds with a high of 72 and i will have the latest on hurricane matthew coming up tonight on "action news" at 11:00 this is potentially devastating for jamaica. >> my goodness. all right thank you cecily. some furry friends walked the red carpet in university city this afternoon. this is the cast of a new tv series called life at vet u. the show features the clients canines and hundreds of fact he tea staff and students of penn vet. after a walk down the red carpet they did watch a screening of the first episode. "action news" continues at 10:00 top night on phl17 with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers. join us for "action news at 11:00 here on channel6. for jim gardner cecily tynan jaime apody ducis rodgers the entire "action news team i'm monica malpass. have a good night. hope to see you here at 11:00. >> ♪ c'mon in, pop pop! happy birthday! i survived a heart attack. i'm doing all i can to keep from having another one. and i'm taking brilinta. for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. i take brilinta with a baby aspirin. no more than one hundred milligrams as it affects how well it works. brilinta helps keep my platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. brilinta reduced the chance of another heart attack. or dying from one. it worked better than plavix. >>don't stop taking brilinta without talking to your doctor since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily, or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers, a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery, and all medicines you take. >>talk to your doctor about brilinta. i'm doing all i can. that includes brilinta. if you can't afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. tonight, breaking news. authorities urging calm right now. just releasing this video. the deadly police shooting. police say he had taken a shooting stance. the sister who said she told police he had no gun. tonight, authorities telling businesses to shut down. also breaking, the category 4 hurricane. winds up to 140 miles per hour. ginger zee is standing by. donald trump's twitter tirade. about miss yuniverse. and breaking at this hour in new york, the new raid