Man robs student near Mayer dormitory

An unidentified man robbed a female student, possibly at gunpoint, early Wednesday morning on the 3800 block of Spruce Street at approximately 4:30.

The student was walking eastbound between Mayer Hall and the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house, Chief of Police Thomas Rambo said. "An unknown male came from behind her and demanded money."

The student then gave him her purse, from which he removed her money, cell phone and assorted other items before fleeing, Rambo said.

"The male was possibly armed with a gun," though a continued investigation is required to ascertain whether or not this was so, Rambo said.

The suspect was described as a black male in his late 20s, approximately 6'0" with a slim build and a mustache. He was described as wearing baggy pants, a hooded jacket with an emblem on the right arm and a large white panel across the chest and a white baseball cap.

After the event, Penn Police were called to the scene where they were unable to apprehend the suspect. Still, "a short time" after the incident they observed a male "fitting the description" enter a white Buick LeSabre with medium-tinted windows revealing a partial Pennsylvania tag of FBT with the final two numbers being 44, Rambo said.

"Police pursued it and lost the vehicle in South Philadelphia," he added.

The student sustained no injuries, Rambo said.

The police do not currently believe that this robbery has any relation to the string of robberies that affected campus at the beginning of the semester.

"We don't know at this point, but it does not appear at this time" that this incident was connected to any of the earlier occurrences, Rambo said. "But there is a full and active investigation."

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