Students robbed at gunpoint outside of Hamilton Court

Two University sophomores were robbed by a man claiming to have a gun outside of Hamilton Court Monday night, shortly after another armed robbery at 43rd and Pine streets. University and Philadelphia Police have not made any arrests in the incidents, which are currently under investigation. The two students were talking in a well-lit area outside of the building at 39th and Chestnut streets at 10:12 p.m. when a man claiming to have a gun underneath his shirt confronted them and demanded their money. "He said really quietly, 'I have a gun and if either of you move, I'll shoot you' [because] I have nothing to live for," according to one victim, a male Wharton and Engineering sophomore who requested anonymity. The student added that the suspect -- described as a thin, clean-shaven man wearing a yellow and black polka-dotted shirt --E"didn't make a scene? he was just very quiet [and] very subtle." But both students said they had strong doubts about whether the robber actually possessed a weapon. "I don't think this guy had a gun," said the second victim, College sophomore Maya Falmagne. "I'm not any more scared than I was before this, which is not at all." But she stressed that had she seen an actual gun, she "would have been about 10 times as scared." Although both students were carrying backpacks and wallets with credit cards, the robber only asked for their cash -- which amounted to little more than $4. "Some stupid bastard will take four bucks from you and not even touch your $1,500 watch," Falmagne said, referring to the costly Tag Heuer her friend wore during the incident. No further information was available on the 43rd and Pine streets incident. Since the beginning of the semester, 15 Penn students have been robbed at gunpoint in 10 incidents. Although the students said they had not been paying close attention to their surroundings when the incident occurred, the male student noted that "it's kind of scary that I was in a well-lit area and I was walking with another person" at the time of the robbery. But the students said they were impressed with the University Police Department's rapid response time, as well as with a phone call from University Police Officer John Wiley reminding the victims of the counseling and safety resources available to them.