A 22-year-old man unaffiliated with the University was stabbed at around 2:15 a.m. Saturday on the 200 block of South 44th Street, according to Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
Responding to a call, Penn Police found that the complainant had been stabbed in the abdomen by a taxi driver.
Witnesses reported that the complainant approached the taxi as it was letting passengers out, which resulted in words being exchanged between the complainant and the driver, Vanore said.
This escalated to a physical altercation, during which the driver produced a large knife and stabbed the complainant in the abdomen, witnesses said.
The complainant was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania by the Philadelphia Fire Department and remains in critical condition, Vanore said.
The taxi driver had fled the scene by the time police arrived, although Philadelphia Police's Southwest Detective Division is now working with the Philadelphia Parking Authority's Taxi Enforcement Unit to trace the taxi driver, he added.
The taxi driver is described as a white male, possibly of Middle Eastern origin, between 45 and 50 years old, heavily built, balding and with gray and black hair at the sides. He was wearing a multicolored shirt.
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