Small explosion near polling place closes roads in Lehigh Co., police say
May 19, 2026
A polling place in Catasauqua remains open for the Pa. primary elections, but police said, roads in the area have been closed as an investigation is underway following an explosion there.
On Tuesday morning, NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle spoke to officials with the Pennsylvania State Police wh
o said the roads were closed after there was some kind of small explosion in the area.
Officials said crews responded to the area at about 9:12 a.m. after a report of an incident there.
Police told NBC10 that investigators believe the explosion came from a device that was thrown from the window of a moving vehicle that was driving by a polling place at a church along the 600 block of Third Street in Catasauqua.
However, officials were not sure what type of device exploded in this incident.
No one was injured in the incident and, police said, as of about 12:15 p.m., there was no description yet available of the vehicle that may be involved in this incident.
Fire officials said they have closed Third Street from Pine to Chapel street and Walnut Street from Crane to Limestone as an investigation into the incident continues.
Scott Tobey, who uses the nearby polling place, said he heard the noise before he headed out to vote on Tuesday morning.
“I heard a large explosion earlier this morning and I kind of didn’t think about it until I saw all this,” he said.
Tobey said he was concerned that the incident may have been politically motivated.
“We are just so divided right now,” said Tobey.
The incident did not cause the nearby polling place to close and voters can continue to participate in the Pa. primary elections, officials said.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
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