Seven assaults hit U. City over last week

Seven assaults occurred on or near campus in the last week, including attacks on two students and a University staff member, as well as an assault on a police officer by a student.

On Feb. 20, two male students were assaulted in separate incidents near 30th and Market streets.

At about 6:30 p.m., the first student was pushed and then punched by a group of about five men near the entrance to the 30th Street subway.

At about 6:40 p.m., the other student was punched by a pair of men who proceeded to flee in an unknown direction.

Nothing was stolen in either case, and both victims were treated for minor head injuries. No weapons were involved in either incident.

Division of Public Safety officials declined to speculate on a link between the two cases, but they said that they are considering all possibilities.

In an unrelated incident on Feb. 19 at about 7:40 p.m., a male staff member was assaulted by three unknown males on the 3900 block of Ludlow Street. The suspects approached the staff member, hit him in the face and then fled the scene.

There were no injuries, and no weapon was involved in the assault.

In all three cases, police gave no descriptions of the suspects, and no arrests have been made in connection with any of the incidents.

In another unrelated incident, an undergraduate College student, Hugh Brown, 28, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a male police officer on Feb. 21 at 6:10 p.m. The incident took place on College Green, near the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

Brown became involved in a dispute with a Penn Police officer and repeatedly hit the officer without causing injury. No weapon was involved.

DPS officials would not comment on why the dispute started, but Brown has been charged with public drunkenness and similar misconduct in addition to aggravated assault and resisting arrest.

Brown was released on Feb. 23 and is due to appear in court on Mar. 1.

There were also three more assaults, involving individuals unaffiliated with Penn:

n Michael Gallagher, 30 and unaffiliated with the University, allegedly attempted to drive a car into a police officer when he was stopped on the 3700 block of Chestnut Street at about 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 18.

The officer escaped injury by dodging the car, and Gallagher was arrested.

Gallagher posted bail of $8,000 on Feb. 18. He is charged with aggravated assault.

n Joseph Francis, 44 and unaffiliated with the University, allegedly struck a security officer while he was escorted out of Presbyterian Hospital, located at 51 N. 39th St., at about 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 22. Francis had been sleeping in the area.

n Mark Williams, 35 and unaffiliated with the University, was involved in an alleged domestic dispute inside the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, located at 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard, at about 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 22.

Williams then allegedly assaulted and stole the bag of the complainant before fleeing. He was stopped by hospital security and arrested by Penn Police.

DPS spokeswoman Karima Zedan said in an e-mail that the high number of assaults were indicative of a growing trend in Philadelphia.

"Other sections of the city have also seen a rise in violence and aggressive criminal behavior among young men purely for the sake of violence without monetary gain," she said.

The seven assaults were in addition to two robberies over the period of Feb. 17 to 22.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.