Man hurt in off-campus shooting

The Sept. 6 shooting injured a man at 41st and Sansom. A man was shot in the shoulder during a robbery near 41st and Sansom streets early in the morning September 6, but the 23-year-old -- who is not affiliated with the University -- did not suffer serious injuries in the incident, police said. Mark Caron -- a Frasier, Pa., resident -- was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania by his girlfriend after the incident and questioned by Philadelphia Police officers while in the emergency room. Two men approached Caron as he was walking with his girlfriend in front of 200 S. 41st Street at 2:22 a.m. The men robbed the couple and instructed them to lie down on the ground, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. One of the men hit Caron in the back of the head with a handgun and shot him in the shoulder before the two suspects fled the scene. His girlfriend then drove him to HUP. The Philadelphia Police Department's Public Affairs Office could not immediately locate a list of the items stolen from Caron or his girlfriend, whose identity has not yet been released by police. A Philadelphia Police spokesperson did not know whether Caron's girlfriend was a Penn student, but University Police said she was not affiliated with the University either. HUP records indicate that Caron was treated in the Emergency Department but not admitted to the hospital, a HUP employee said. Philadelphia Police officers questioned Caron and his girlfriend about the incident shortly before 4 a.m. at the hospital. Although the shooting occurred within University Police jurisdiction, a Penn police official said there is no record of University Police responding to a radio call about the incident after Caron arrived at the hospital. The robbery and shooting are also not listed in the University Police crime logbook, which is supposed to contain information about all incidents to which all University officers respond both within and outside their jurisdiction. But if no Penn police officers responded to the call, it would not need to be logged. The incident is being investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives Bureau, but the detective handling the case was not available for comment last night. The last shooting near campus occurred in September 1996, when College senior Patrick Leroy was wounded in the back during an attempted late-night robbery near the intersection of 40th and Locust streets.