Man, 21, killed in shooting

A 21-year-old Allentown man was fatally shot Saturday near the Hamilton Street Bridge, the Lehigh County coroner’s office reported Sunday afternoon.

Christian J. Lopez Rodriguez was pronounced dead just before 4 p.m. Saturday at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, about a half hour after he was shot in the 100 block of East Hamilton Street in Allentown, the coroner said.

The manner of death was homicide.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine the exact cause of death.

The incident, which forced the closure of the Hamilton Street Bridge until shortly after 6:30 p.m. Saturday, remains under investigation, and the Allentown Police Department is being assisted by the Lehigh County district attorney office’s Homicide Task Force and the Lehigh County coroner’s office.

Allentown police didn’t have anyone in custody as of 5 p.m. Sunday, Capt. John Hill said. No additional information was available.

Investigators are asking anyone who was in the area at the time and either witnessed the incident or has related video to contact detectives at 610-4377721.

Allentown has experienced far fewer shootings this year compared to last year, but Saturday’s was the city’s sixth gun-related homicide of 2020, surpassing 2019’s total.