Gunmen rob four students last week

No one was hurt in the off-campus incidents, and police have not yet made any arrests. At least four students were robbed at gunpoint last Thursday night in three separate off-campus incidents, University Police said. No one was injured in any of the robberies, all of which occurred west of campus, and police have made no arrests. In the first incident, a student was robbed at gunpoint at 12:53 a.m. Thursday. The incident occurred at 45th Street and Springfield Avenue. That night, two men -- one of whom was wielding a shotgun -- robbed two male students shortly after 11 p.m. on the 200 block of South 42nd Street. A license, Social Security card and PennCard were stolen from one of the students, and the second lost his PennCard, pager and $17 in cash. One suspect was described as 6' tall, wearing a light shirt and cut-off blue jeans and carrying a shotgun. The second man was only described as being of medium build, police said. After robbing the students, the assailants fled the scene in a tan and maroon mid-size car, according to University Police. Less than half an hour later, another student was robbed at gunpoint at 49th Street and Springfield Avenue. The student was taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's 18th District headquarters for questioning and to give police descriptions of the alleged perpetrators. Because the two incidents on Springfield Avenue occurred outside University Police's normal patrol range, the city police's Southwest Detective Bureau is primarily handling the investigations. No additional information on any of the incidents was available from the Philadelphia Police as of late last night. The three incidents bring the total number of robberies at gunpoint against students this fall to five, involving a total of at least seven students. About two weeks ago, three students were held up at gunpoint in two early-morning incidents. One of the September 3 robberies occurred near campus at 36th and Walnut streets. Police believe that the same four suspects committed both robberies that morning, but have made no arrests in the incidents. The number of on- and off-campus armed robberies this year still pales in comparison to the robberies and thefts that occurred last fall, when 10 incidents involving a total of 14 students were reported to University Police in one two-week period.