String of robberies hits Walnut

A female Drexel University student was robbed on the 3100 block of Walnut Street Wednesday night, the third incident at that location in as many days. Police believe the second incident -- an attempted robbery Tuesday night -- and third incident may have been the work of one man, but the first robbery was likely committed by a different person. "It strikes me that the first one, although the time element is the same, and the location is basically the same, is probably not [committed by] the same person who did the second and third," Penn Det. Supervisor William Danks said. In Wednesday's robbery, the Drexel student reported that she was approached by a man at about 10:15 p.m. as she was descending the stairs behind the Left Bank construction project. The man pushed her against a wall, pressed something that she said felt like a gun into her back and demanded her backpack. She handed him the backpack, and he fled west on Walnut Street in a blue sedan driven by a woman. The backpack contained a cellular phone, several books and assorted change. The value of the items was unknown. The Drexel student, who was not injured in the incident, described the man as an African-American male around 30 years of age, wearing a dark-colored jacket. The male Penn student who was the victim of an attempted robbery on the 3100 block of Walnut Street Tuesday night described his assailant as an African-American male around 30 years old and wearing a dark-colored coat, as well. The student also said the man was around 5'10" and between 140 and 160 pounds, with a pointy face and a small chin. According to Danks, Wednesday night's robbery occurred right under the nose of the Penn Police. As a result of the robbery Monday -- in which two men robbed a male University employee, taking $185 in cash -- and the attempted robbery Tuesday, uniformed and plainclothes police were stationed on one side of the Left Bank building. However, Wednesday's robbery took place on the opposite side. Danks said Penn Police are "working pretty hard" on catching the robber. The Amtrak, SEPTA and Philadelphia Police Departments have also been informed of the situation. In the meantime, Danks advised students to avoid walking alone in sparsely populated locations after dark. "My only advice is use some common sense in where you're walking late at night," he said.