her most precious possession is all smiles and unaware of the danger that just passed. around 11:00 this morning, witnesses say the man sitting in the back of this police cruiser walked into the grocery store at south 11th and tree street armed with what appeared to be a real gun, he held the store's owner at bay by pointing the gun at her infant. he then stole cash from the register and ran off. that's when neighbors sprang into action. >> couple buddies were running up the street, chasing and screaming. i came running out of the house and we ended up chasing him over here. by the time i got there, they already got him. about six guys were holding him down. >> reporter: a crowd grew as police rushed to the scene. joe hughes says aiming an apparent pistol at an infant went over the line. >> we took action. he got stomped. he wanted the cops to come. >> reporter: third district officers arrested the suspect and recovered a pellet gun. police say they appreciate the help but prefer citizens leave chasing criminals to the professionals. >> i was not really expecting them to actually do this. i'm grateful nobody got hurt.

>> reporter: as for that dose of street justice administered before charges were even filed. >> it sends a message to anybody else? >> at least this street. we take care of our own street. you know what i'm staying? >> reporter: in addition to the half dozen witnesses police brought here to the south detectives to give statements, they also have surveillance video from inside the store showing the crime in progress. in south philadelphia, jesse gary, nbc 10 news. just minutes ago, we learned new details about an officer involved shooting in dover, delaware. officers got a tip a man had a gun. they ran after terrence fletcher and an officer fired several shots and hit him. fletcher is in the hospital with a bullet wound to his leg. police won't say what prompted the officer to fire his weapon. they say they found a hand gun. tropical storm erika is moving and shifting gears. it could bring catastrophic flooding to the dominican republic. 20 people are missing and four

others confirmed dead in the caribbean island of dominica. people in puerto rico are also bracing for the worst. stores and businesses closed their doors. what is the latest on erika's movement? hurricane expert, chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz joining us now. this system is really going to bring a lot of rain. >> yeah. i think that will be the biggest problem with it. when we look back on this storm, that is going to be its legacy, more rain and flooding than hurricane force winds. because it is still relatively weak, it is disorganized and now it's very close to land and not only just land, mountainous land. so that's a triple whammy for not strengthening. 50 mile an hour max winds. due west. we told you yesterday it's likely to stay south of puerto rico, south of dominican republic now, going right over haiti. the next part will be cuba. cuba has high mountains, too.

as long as it's over mountains, it can't strengthen. if anything, it weakens. lot of computer models show it going right over cuba now. everything has shifted to the left because of it being so weak. then they start turning it toward the gulf of mexico. so the latest forecast from the national hurricane center does take it over cuba and weakens it to a tropical depression by tomorrow. we will see what effect it will have on florida and also talk about our next heat wave with the seven-day in a few minutes. >> the next update from the national hurricane center it at 11:00. now is the time to download the nbc 10 news app to get the latest track. erika comes exactly ten years since hurricane katrina battered the gulf coast. it broke through the levees surrounding new orleans. more than 1800 people died in katrina. hundreds of thousands were left homeless. today, former president george w. bush visited new orleans for a first-hand look at the ongoing recovery.

"nbc nightly news" will broadcast live from new orleans tonight. lester holt will anchor at 6:30. it is part of the ongoing comeback of new orleans ten years later. two men who put their own lives on the line for years did it again today. they saved a 4-year-old girl who was at the bottom of a swimming pool at the jersey shore. she was blue and lifeless when she was pulled out of the water this afternoon at echo farms campground in upper township. joe heffernan and ed reynolds revived the little girl with cpr and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. heffernan is a veteran of the delaware county sheriff's department and former millborn borough police chief. he reynolds is a retired septa police officer. >> i'm telling you, they're my heroes. we will do something for them. we will. because they saved my granddaughter's life. >> thank god that all my

experiences had prepared me because just the look on that mother's face when i handed her her baby back sitting up and crying was just, i got the chills just talking about it. >> the pool does not have any lifeguards. her grandmother says layla was playing with a snorkel in three feet of water as her mom put sunscreen on layla's little sister. that 4-year-old became submerged. we are told she is now fine but will spend the night in the hospital as a precaution. take a look at this sketch. police in washington township say a mother came home to find a man reaching into her daughter's first floor bedroom window wednesday night. that mom confronted the man and he ran away. a 6-year-old girl who was in the room told her mom a man opened her bedroom window and started talking to her. police think the suspect lives in the same washington way apartment complex. a south jersey police officer says he lost his job because he's losing his

eyesight. he also claims the chief sexually harassed him. officer jason dement filed a lawsuit. tonight we got both sides of the story. south jersey bureau reporter cydney long joins us from haddon township. >> reporter: the officer suffers from a disease that slowly affects his vision. he told me he wasn't asking for any special treatment from the police department or from haddon township, but what he found that he was allegedly and suddenly getting some special attention which he refused. >> he never wanted to miss a single day of work. >> reporter: 36-year-old police officer jason dement is off the job and suing the police chief for alleged explicit and sexual advances. >> the officer's complaint alleges a string of inappropriate sexual touchings and unwanted sexual comments by his boss. the police chief.

>> reporter: the complaint says the chief pinched him and caressed his cheeks, asking him do you want to close the blinds, baby. he says i'm not asking for modified duty for the remainder of my career. i'm simply asking for reasonable accommodation while i seek treatment to defeat this rare disease. he is slowly losing his vision. doctors only limited his driving at night. he says he was caught off guard by being let go and the alleged touching. >> the same day he was told he was being forced out on to this leave, his job was posted on facebook. >> reporter: my attempts to reach the chief today both at his office and by phone were not successful. his parking spot empty, the solicitor did tell me quote, mr. dement's allegations are without merit and both haddon township and the chief intend to defend this matter vigorously. dement says he's not backing down, saying quote, i have

pleaded for the township and police chief to assist me this this extremely difficult time and requested i may be approved for light duty so that i can continue to work and support my wife and daughters. now, he is president of his union and says the department's policy is discriminatory on its face. he is suing for lost wages, emotional distress and is asking for a jury trial, his paid time off and vacation as well as his medical leave will run out in october. i'm cydney long, nbc 10 news. it's been nearly 60 days since pennsylvania entered its budget stalemate. republicans have presented the governor with a plan that increases school funding but threatens future pension payments. today, parents, teachers and owners of day care centers came together to highlight the impact on state subsidized pre-k funding for children whose parents rely on state money to help pay tuition. day care centers might have to

refuse them. the reason? no one knows when the state money might come through. one northtown day care owner says the state shutdown in 2009 nearly bankrupted her business. >> financially we could not survive. we barely survived in the 2009 budget impasse when i had to empty -- i get emotional -- had to empty all my kids' college funds. >> governor wolf says he supports a budget that will pay interest to those who take out loans to stay in business. synthetic marijuana in grocery stores in berks county. police arrested manuel lopez alivares on charges he distributed it to stores in reading. detectives tell us they have been investigating for about a year. this morning, he was arrested when he allegedly stole will synthetic marijuana to an undercover agent. a warning for pet owners in camden county after a skunk tested positive for rabies. the skunk made contact with a dog in berlin last month.

yesterday, the health department got test results that showed the animal was rabid. the dog is okay because it was current on its rabies shot. next on "nbc 10 news at 6:00," we found some people who have already cashed in renting their place for the pope's visit. next, the deals that are still available. and award-winning main line restaurant shut down because of roaches. tonight, the new punishment it faces plus when it could reopen. next at 6:00, the latest on tropical storm erika's track. plus if you're heading to the poconos or the shore this weekend, i have you covered.

are you thinking about renting a room to someone during the pope's visit? well, a lot of people aren't having an easy time doing that. nbc 10's drew smith is live on the ben franklin parkway with more. drew? >> reporter: it was back at the beginning of the year when a lot of people started putting rooms online hoping to cash in on the pope's popularity and the fact he would be here in philadelphia. it hasn't wosrked out for a lot of people. there are still thousands of unrented rooms posted online.

several web sites are listing a ton of places at all different prices for the papal visit. everything from sharing a spare room in fairmount to even this main line mansion. a lot of people wanted a piece of the action. >> i think this is a great location and that's why a lot of people in this area are renting out their places. >> reporter: we called around and talked to some people who rented out their home for $7,000 in queen village. another couple got $5,000 for their place in rittenhouse. but those success stories are the exception, not the norm. >> perhaps there has been maybe too much hype and too much talk of security and i think maybe a lot of people who would have come are not going to come. >> reporter: the sudden availability of a lot of hotel rooms isn't helping, either. real estate broker julie welker tells us listers may want to lower their prices. >> there were some people who had exceptionally high rates but we felt they were completely unrealistic and we said that to people. >> reporter: rental site air bnb

said last night demand in philadelphia is eight times higher than normal for the papal weekend. they are also embracing the city's shift to a positive message about the weekend so there still may be hope. >> i don't think it's too late. i think there will be a last minute rush. there is always a last minute rush. >> reporter: that website, airbnb, also said there has been a lot of interest from international visitors in this event. here in the states, the state of texas has a lot of visitors coming to philadelphia to see the pope. i'm drew smith, nbc 10 news. >> we are just 29 days away from the pope's visit on that saturday. check out the nbc 10 news app for answers to all your questions related to the world meeting of families. a popular main line chinese restaurant could reopen as early as next week. yangming in bryn mawr was shut down after a roach infestation. radnor's police superintendent tells nbc 10 citations include

keeping food in unsanitary conditions and failure to control insects and rodents. the restaurant apologized to customers, promising to renovate the site. wildwood expects to reach its goals for cash this summer and probably won't have to start beach tags next year but the city expects to at least talk about it during the offseason. wildwood says new attractions helped raise money. the shore town plans to add more things next year that bring in money including passes to operate four wheel drive vehicles on the beach. most beaches charge for tags. wildwood beaches are free. one week before labor day weekend, it will be a beautiful time to head to the beach if you can. >> yeah, absolutely. this is like the ninth straight weekend of really good weather overall. we had a lot of rotten weekends in june. we are sure making up for it. the big weather story today is erika, still a tropical storm, shifted in track from yesterday,

more or less as expected. another nice weekend. we have had a lot of them. heat wave number five, we had a lot of them, too. we may get another one. lot of great weather for the phillies this week. now they just need to play up to the weather, because the weather is certainly cooperating. 83 degrees. the humidity is very low. 34%. we got up to 85 today but it didn't feel like it. 87 or 88 tomorrow, near 90 on sunday. that could start the heat wave if it doesn't start sunday, it would probably start monday. the temperatures are in the 80s in parts of the philadelphia area and some 70s in surrounding places. i don't think anybody is complaining about the weather. other than going to need some rain eventually. we are staying dry now, though. and more dry air coming in from the west. there is some rain approaching green bay but that should be gone by the time they're ready to play. they will get some showers tonight and into tomorrow morning, but pretty good

conditions, nice and cool for football. no problem there. no problem at the shore. temperatures into the low 80s at the jersey shore, near 90s by sunday at the delaware beaches with the southwest wind. the ocean temperature's still warm at 76 degrees. the pocono mountains, another great weekend. a lot of sunshine, maybe a few more clouds on sunday. here's the latest on erika. tracking just south of the dominican republic now and tremendous, horrible rains probably taking place right now over that island that has mountains up over 10,000 feet. you get a tropical system with a place with mountains like that, you got trouble. some multiple, multiple inches of rain likely this afternoon and tonight and into tomorrow. we will probably see some nasty pictures from there and haiti tomorrow. then the track looks like it would take it pretty close to cuba and eventually it could turn and affect more likely the

west coast of florida than the east coast. possibly into the eastern gulf of mexico. if it does that, if it survives that far, then it might intensify. but it is expected to weaken to a depression by the time it gets over to cuba. it's possible it could regenerate a little bit in the eastern gulf of mexico but that remains to be seen. it's got a lot of land to go through before it gets there. hurricanes don't like going over land. they weaken or die. clear and comfortable tonight, 64 degrees for the low in philadelphia, 52 north and west. during the day tomorrow, sunny and warmer, highs in the mid to upper 80s. the seven-day forecast, hot on sunday and hot monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday. best chance of any showers would be on monday. i'm marshall harris from comcast sports net. john clark is in green bay ahead of the eagles preseason game tomorrow against the packers. we check in with him on the other side.

i'm marshall harris from comcast sports net. we are a little over 25 hours from the eagles' third preseason game, known as the dress rehearsal because it's the final game where starters see extended action. eagles long snapper gave us a look inside the team plane as they traveled today saying it's quote, like the first day of school but way better. the cubicles give you that office space look. that is flying in style. with more on the birds, here's john clark from wisconsin. >> reporter: here are the eagles arriving in wisconsin. they are getting ready for the most important preseason game where the starters usually play

the first half. take a look at sam bradford arriving here. he plans on playing. chip kelly won't say how much just yet. here's tim tebow. he will also get some time in the second half. we should see the debut of new linebacker kiko alonso who the eagles got in the trade for lesean mccoy. demeco ryans also hopes to play. it will be really good to see the linebackers together in their first preseason action. >> i'm excited to get out there and you know, make it happen. >> i'm feeling really good right now. i feel like i'm headed in the right direction. i'll see how i feel this weekend. >> reporter: it does not look like the eagles defense will get to face aaron rodgers. the packers are probably going to sit him out after seeing their leading receiver, jordy nelson, go down with a torn acl. i'm john clark for comcast sports net. >> the birds visit the packers tomorrow night. you can see that game only on nbc 10 at 8:00 p.m.

our pregame coverage starts at 7:30. nbc 10, the official television station of the eagles. after being swept by the mets in a four-game set, the phillies start a home series with the padres with rookie aaron nola on the mound. he could move to 5-1, matching the team lead in wins. we have seen eickhoff with the big club. now they are calling up another pitcher. alec asher makes his major league debut sunday. jerome williams has been moved to the bull pen. jacqueline, back over to you. for a look at what's coming up on "nbc 10 news at 11:00," a popular south jersey teacher died in a crash last night. this is the latest tragedy to affect the pemberton school as a student also died last week. what's being done to help grief-stricken students and staff as they head back to the classroom. patients recently rated their care experience at

over 3,500 hospitals nationwide in a survey conducted for the centers for medicare and medicaid. only seven percent received five stars. including four of ours. learn more at cancercenter.com

a new look for love park.

the fairmount park conservancy begins a one year renovation of the park. the visitors center will become a restaurant. you can see the love statue and fountain aren't going anywhere. we are told you can expect more green space and a renovated underground garage. that would never go anywhere. it's so beautiful. it's such a great place to take a picture. all the tourists -- >> you have to go there. got to go to the rocky statue, up the steps of the art museum. yeah. >> good weekend weather-wise. >> it will be a little hotter on sunday than saturday. if you want to go out and do some running up the art museum steps, tomorrow would be a better day. because temperatures only in the upper 80s instead of 90, plus a little higher humidity we will be seeing on sunday. you can see once we get up to 90, we may be hanging around there for awhile. not a whole lot of chances of showers and storms. monday would be the best chance

in the afternoon. >> thank you. for all of us, the news continues now with "nbc nightly news." tonight, a state of emergency declared in florida as killer tropical storm erika takes aim. the death toll rising in the caribbean. at least a dozen dead, many more missing in widespread flooding and mudslides. desperate journey a crush of refugees and a deadly exodus by sea, with throngs scrambling ashore and by land. with men, women, and children abandoned to die inside a truck. the verdict comes down in the closely watched trial of a former student from an elite prep school accused of raping a freshman as part of a sordid senior tradition. and ten years later, we're live from new orleans. a decade after hurricane katrina scarred this great american city. a remarkable comeback story but not for all who