Seven U. students robbed at gunpoint

University students fell victim to four gunpoint robberies near campus over the weekend, University Police Sergeant Joseph Risoli said last night. On Friday, a University student and a friend were robbed at gunpoint by two men at 12:13 a.m. near 39th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The men managed to run off with $4 and credit cards, and were last seen fleeing south on 39th Street. One suspect was described as 6-foot-5 and wearing a green bomber jacket. Neither man has been arrested by University Police. On Saturday, a University student and a friend were robbed at gunpoint by four men at 1:43 a.m. near the University parking lot at 42nd and Spruce streets. The assailants were apprehended by Philadelphia Police at 46th and Sansom streets and positively identified by the victims, Risoli said. And yesterday, a University student stopped a University Police officer at 40th and Spruce streets at 3:23 a.m. and said that he had just been robbed at gunpoint by a man wearing a brown jacket with a hood and a ski-mask, University police said. Minutes later, two more University students contacted University Police and said they were also robbed near the Billy Bob Restaurant at 40th and Spruce streets. No arrests were made in either case. Although several gunpoint robberies occur every week, Risoli said usually no more than one or two take place each day. During spring break, several other students were robbed off campus. And this, coupled with an increase in crime off campus, prompted University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich to focus additional police patrols on these areas. On February 23, for instance, four men opened fire on Philadelphia Police at 41st Street and Baltimore Avenue while they were being pursued for robbing a nearby delicatessen.