Gunfire pierced an otherwise quiet evening on the 4000 block of Baltimore Avenue Monday night, after police chased a robbery suspect to that location.
The University of Pennsylvania Police Department received a call that a parking lot attendant in a lot on 30th and Market streets had been pistol whipped and robbed by two men. The two assailants were then seen fleeing into the trolley line nearby.
According to the UPPD's Deputy Chief of Investigations William Danks, "The two officers thought that, if they went down to the subwaysurface station on 40th and Baltimore, they might be able to catch the two suspects."
Sure enough, when the trolley emerged at the station on 40th and Baltimore, two men fitting the descriptions of the robbers exited.
Upon seeing the officers, the two suspects fled in separate directions, with one running between two residences and into an alleyway.
Both officers followed the man who turned and fired one shot at the officers, hitting neither of them. The officers then fired three shots at the man, but the suspect was not hit either.
"The suspect then fled to rear of the property, went over a fence, down the alley and headed off," Danks said. The officers then lost sight of the suspect.
The other suspect was not sighted after leaving the trolley.
"He just disappeared into the dust," Danks said.
The UPPD will be conducting a joint investigation into the shooting with the Philadelphia Police Department, which is the usual procedure for the more serious incidents that occur on campus.
The suspect who fired at the police officers is described as an African-American male of about 20 years of age, 5'6" to 5'7" tall, with a medium build, an afro hairstyle and a goatee.
The other suspect who fled is also described as a 20-year-old African-American male, 6'2" tall, who is very thin with very short hair, and wearing a white t-shirt and blue denim shorts.
While people in the area of the shooting showed concern after the incident, Danks said that during the chase there were no witnesses whatsoever.
"The whole incident happened in the rear of an alleyway," he said.
"The incident is still under investigation, and we're just very thankful that the officers weren't injured and that nobody was hurt," UPPD Chief of Police Thomas Rambo said.
The University has not experienced a shooting since last March. In one incident, two men were shot early in the morning while sitting in their car at the intersection of 38th and Market streets. Witnesses had reported seeing five men wearing dark clothing fleeing the scene shortly thereafter. The UPPD in conjunction with the PPD were unable to make an arrest in the case.
The week earlier, a man had been shot in the stomach while standing outside of the Pegasus nightclub, located at 3801 Chestnut Street.
