Man shot, three men arrested on 38th St.

Philadelphia Police arrested three men suspected of robbery early yesterday morning after a high speed chase that ended with a car crash at 38th and Walnut streets and with an officer shooting one suspect in the foot, police said. The injured man was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and was later released, police said. The three men have been charged by Philadelphia Police in connection with the robbery of two students earlier in the morning. The incident, which occurred at about 3 a.m., began when the three men allegedly robbed two students at 44th and Locust streets. One of the students, who did not want to be identified, said the suspects jumped him and took his wallet, which contained $10. The men drove off in an off-white Mercury. When police tried to stop them at 51st Street and Baltimore Avenue, they sped away and a chase ensued, police said. The suspects then went west to 38th Street, where they drove on the wrong side of the road until, while turning onto Walnut Street, they crashed into a pole in front of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity house. One of the suspects jumped out of the car and tried to run north on 38th Street. An officer followed and, when he saw the suspect reach into his waistband -- possibly for a weapon -- shot him in the foot, police said. The suspect fell to the ground in front of TEP's backyard fence, about 30 feet from Walnut Street. Police officers pulled the other two suspects, both 19-years-old, out of the car and arrested them after the two students who were mugged positively identified them as their assailants. Police said the three men have also been charged in an unrelated robbery at 34th and Race streets. No one else was injured, police said. TEP brother and College sophomore Matthew Schneider said yesterday that he saw the incident from a window in the house. He said he heard a tire blow out, and then saw the car crash into a pole. He said he saw the officer shoot the man and then heard the suspect shouting "I've been shot! I've been shot!" Nearly an hour after the incident, several TEP brothers and witnesses stood around and watched police officers investigate the scene. The injured suspect had been taken to the hospital and the two students who were mugged waited to make a statement to police. And in the aftermath of a mugging, a shooting and an arrest, they marvelled at the events which had taken place right where they stood. "It happened so quickly, I didn't know what had happened," Schneider said. "Yeah, I was scared."

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