Man shot inside SEPTA station

Man shot in SEPTA station and CHARLES ORNSTEIN A 20-year-old Asian-American Temple University student was shot in the back of the neck and in the leg last night in the SEPTA subway concourse at 36th and Sansom streets, University Police officer Rudy Palmer said last night. The man was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was originally listed in critical condition and later upgraded to stable condition, a HUP official said. Student witnesses reported hearing two gunshots at around 9:45 p.m. Palmer said the victim, a male student who works at the University's Clinical Research Building, was shot in what may have been a robbery attempt. Palmer said the bullet went through the victim's neck and exited through the area near his nose. "He was laying down when the trolley came," said a woman, who saw the victim and spoke on the condition of anonymity. "His hands were across the track [and] his head was on the pavement. There was a big hole in the middle of his head." Philadelphia emergency vehicles arrived on the scene within minutes of the shooting and rushed the victim to HUP. HUP Evening Administrator Nancy Williams said that as of 11:45 p.m. the student was in stable condition. She said the victim was undergoing diagnostic tests to determine the location of the bullets and the amount of bleeding. Earlier in the evening, she reported the victim was in critical condition. Williams said she would not release the victim's name until the family had been notified. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority Police Sergeant David Lamb said two black males, one dressed in black and the other wearing a purple hat, may be suspects in the shooting. Lamb said the two fled east on Walnut Street. University Police had not made any arrests and had no suspects in custody as of 11:30 p.m., University Police Sergeant Ivan Kimble said. An unidentified white male was escorted, against his will, into a Philadelphia police vehicle around 10 p.m. by officers who wanted to question him in conjunction with the shooting. After the incident, one SEPTA official said that all trains had been halted due to the incident and the 36th Street entrances were blocked off. By 10:45 p.m., trains were rerouted and SEPTA Police at the scene were directing passengers to the 40th and Market Street SEPTA station. Detectives and SEPTA Police at the scene would not comment on the investigation.