Three men engage in armed fight

Three men, at least one of which was armed with a gun, were involved in a fight early yesterday morning outside the Backstreet Cafe on the 3900 block of Sansom Street, police said. According to Lieutenant Susan Holmes, University Police responded to a report of a fight on Philadelphia Police radio at the 3921 Sansom Street cafe. Witnesses told police that one man carrying a pistol and two other men were involved in the fight, Holmes said. Philadelphia Police stopped three males in a car fitting the description, but witnesses said that those men were not involved, Holmes said. The three men were released. A man handed over a demand note stating, "I have a gun," and then stole an unspecified amount of goods or money, Holmes said. The man was about five-feet, seven-inches tall, about 30 years old, dark complected, and was last seen wearing a white scarf and tweed coat, Holmes said. University Police also responded to a report of a woman being followed by a suspicious-looking man on the 4000 block of Walnut Street, Holmes said. Although the complainant was not at the scene when police arrived, the officers stopped the man who was carrying a knife, Holmes said. The man was brought to University Police headquarters where police checked to see if he had any outstanding warrants. The man was released, Holmes said. In a separate incident, a University trash truck was involved in a minor accident at 9 a.m. yesterday on 40th Street between Spruce and Pine streets, police said. No one was injured and damage to the vehicles was minor, Holmes said.