Four violent robberies struck Penn's campus and the surrounding area this weekend, confounding a police force already struggling to combat a spike in crime that began earlier this semester.
The incidents, which may be related, are especially troubling for the Penn Police Department because it has recently stepped up efforts to limit crimes of this nature.
The department has kept extra officers on the streets since a string of robberies struck campus two weeks ago.
All four incidents this past weekend involved violence and were "crimes of opportunity" -- the suspects seemed to look for victims traveling alone and targeted cell phones and cash, according to Deputy Chief of Investigations Mike Morrin.
Morrin added that connections may exist among this weekend's crimes, which were committed in a short period of time and in a relatively limited geographic area. The victims from the different incidents also gave similar descriptions of their attackers.
The first robbery occurred at about 6:15 p.m. Saturday on the 3400 block of Spruce Street, near the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Two men approached a 26-year-old man -- who is not affiliated with Penn -- and demanded money.
Before the victim could respond, one of the robbers punched him on the right side of the face, cutting him.
After the victim fell to the ground, one man removed $15 from the victim's wallet.
The first robber is described as a black male in his late teens, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a medium build, mustache and dark complexion. He reportedly wore a red and white jacket.
The second robber is described as a man 18 to 20 years old and about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He reportedly wore a white shirt.
After the robbery, the two assailants fled east on Spruce Street.
The victim declined medical treatment.
Five minutes later -- at about 6:20 p.m. -- between four and six robbers attacked a 30-year-old male Penn graduate student on the walk that runs diagonally near Hill College House from the intersection of 33rd and Chestnut streets to the intersection of 34th and Walnut streets.
The victim was reportedly talking on a cell phone when the robbers approached him.
Without warning, one of the assailants punched the victim in the face and grabbed the cell phone.
The student suffered minor injuries, including a cut on his lip and a bloody nose. He declined medical treatment.
One robber is described as being black and between the ages of 15 and 19, 5 feet 6 inches tall and about 135 pounds with a medium complexion.
He reportedly had shoulder-length dreadlocks and wore a gray hooded sweatshirt over a dark-blue shirt.
The other robbers are described only as being between 15 and 19 years of age and 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 1 inch in height.
Police received reports of the first two robberies simultaneously, as there was a slight delay in reporting the 6:15 p.m. incident near the intersection of 34th and Spruce streets.
A third robbery occurred at about 7 p.m. Saturday at the other end of the campus.
A 16-year-old -- who is not affiliated with Penn -- was walking west on the 4100 block of Spruce Street when two assailants approached him from behind.
One of the attackers struck the teen in the face and proceeded to take his cell phone and $45 in cash.
After the victim returned home, his father took him to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where the victim received stitches for a cut on his lip and treatment for facial swelling.
The victim described one robber as a black male about 17 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall with a heavy build. This suspect reportedly wore a tan shirt and tan pants.
The other is described as a black male, also around 17 years old, 6 feet tall with a thin build, wearing a blue golf shirt and blue jeans.
The fourth incident occurred at about 1:25 a.m. Sunday on Woodland Walk near Van Pelt Library.
A 19-year-old male Drexel University undergraduate student was walking while talking on his cell phone when a lone man approached him.
Without warning, the man struck the student in the face and said, "Give me something!"
The student was able to run to a nearby blue-light security telephone to alert police.
The would-be robber fled empty-handed. He was last seen running west on Walnut Street.
The victim was cut on his lower lip.
He was transported to HUP, where he was treated and released.
His assailant is described as a black male in his early 20s, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, with a thin build and dark complexion. The victim said that the suspect appeared clean-shaven and wore a red coat.
Detectives are in the process of gathering footage from surveillance cameras around campus and enhancing its quality in an effort to identify suspects.
Similar crimes Recent incidents: - Crimes of opportunity - Close in time,distance - Attackers use physical force
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