Police seek robbery suspects

University Police are warning area merchants, students and security officials about a man impersonating a Penn security guard who robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store near campus at gunpoint early Sunday morning. According to police, two men entered the store at 42nd and Walnut streets around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. One of them drew a gun, police said, and they left the convenience store with $100 in cash. The two were last seen fleeing east on Walnut Street. Police say the suspect entered the store dressed as a Spectaguard employee. The suspect stole the white shirt with a Penn Security emblem on the shoulder from a vehicle belonging to a Spectaguard late last week, police said. Yesterday, officials posted signs and handed out notices to University City merchants advising them of the situation. "We're not going to take any chances," said University Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush. "We didn't want to sit back and not alert people." Police described the man who wore the Spectaguard uniform as a 6'1" African American with a thin build, medium complexion and a little bit of facial hair. His accomplice was a thin black man, 5'5" tall and about 16 years old. The man who allegedly wore the Spectaguard shirt did not have a Spectaguard cap, police said. The suspect wore a dark baseball cap during the robbery. Rush said community members should remember that all police officials carry identification -- and all Spectaguards wear the paramilitary-type hats. If a person wearing the uniform is not wearing the hat, Rush said, that may be a tipoff that he is an impostor. "When in doubt, if someone's acting strange, always ask for ID," Rush said. If a man wearing a Spectaguard uniform refuses to show identification, the letter said, one should call University Police immediately. Rush said detectives are considering the possibility that the robber was in fact a Spectaguard employee, but she said she is "about 99.9 percent sure" that he isn't. Spectaguard has been the University's security contractor since 1996. It employs about 200 guards to provide security on all campus facilities and to provide supplemental patrol to University Police officers.

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