Series of assaults strikes campus

A string of random assaults occurred around the 4000 block of Pine Street early Saturday and Sunday mornings, when a large group of West Philadelphia residents between the ages of 13 and 18 allegedly attacked several Penn students and another individual in separate incidents, according to University Police Chief Tom Rambo.

Another related assault occurred on Locust Walk two weeks ago.

Three of the suspects were arrested Sunday night and an additional seven are being investigated. University Police applied for arrest warrants for these seven, three of which have already been granted.

The majority of the incidents allegedly occurred between approximately 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Sunday. Four or five separate incidents were reported over the weekend, with a few delayed reports received during the week, Rambo said.

The perpetrators are "novices," Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said, which "puts the stakes up for the safety of the victim."

Of the victims of the alleged assaults, Rambo said that the majority of injuries incurred were relatively minor, although a few students were taken to the emergency room.

Wharton senior Edward Hargroves was one of the individuals assaulted at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning while walking back to his apartment on 41st Street between Spruce and Pine streets.

Shortly after dropping one of his friends off at Smokey Joe's on 40th Street, he was confronted by eight to 10 teenage individuals who formed a semicircle around him "about 10 feet from [the] doorstep," he said.

One of the suspects then hit Hargroves on the back of the head, and when he turned around to look, he was hit again from behind, he said. He remembers being hit repeatedly in the face and back of his head until he was able to break out of the circle after approximately two minutes.

Once he broke out of the circle, bleeding profusely, the suspects fled, without taking anything from him.

"I was bigger than all of these guys, I think," he said. "But there were 10 of them, I couldn't really do anything."

Shortly after the suspects fled, two of Hargroves' neighbors turned the corner, saw him and called 911. Hargroves also used his cell phone to call one of his good friends who lives nearby and arrived on the scene shortly, he said.

"The whole front of my face, hands and shirt were saturated with blood, and my friend told me that the back of my head was worse," Hargroves said.

Approximately 15 minutes later, an ambulance arrived and took him to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Upon arriving at the emergency room, physicians determined that he had in fact been hit on the back of the head with not only fists, but a weapon, likely a pipe, he said, although police have said that no weapons were involved in the assaults.

"I have two large holes in the back of my head right on the right and left side, about 4.5 cm. by 0.75 cm., I think," Hargroves said. "The cuts themselves are pretty linear and not likely done by a fist because they're pretty deep. It is my understanding that fists leave a more rounded impression."

After spending more than four hours in the ER, Hargroves was released with 12 metal staples in the back of his head and countless bandages, he said.

Rush emphasized that students should remain on their guard, noting the increased risk level at this time of year.

"There haven't been any other crimes since these kids have been taken into custody, but we just want to be sure that people are alert because there could be another group that is waiting to perpetrate," Rush said. "People see a couple young kids coming down the street, they may not have their guard up as much.... The bottom line is not about what people look like, about their race, about their gender, about their age. It's about their actions."

Police are also investigating a concurrent string of weekend robberies they believe were committed by these same individuals, but in smaller groups of three to four. The incidents resulted in the theft of a cell phone and an unspecified amount of money. They may be related to a robbery that occurred last Tuesday at the 7-Eleven on 42nd and Walnut streets, Rambo said.

Since the alleged attack, Hargroves said, he has tried to be more aware of his surroundings and is nervous about inviting people over late at night. Now that the suspects have been identified and are in the process of being arrested, he feels safer.

He also is certain the attack was not specifically targeted at him and that he was simply a randomly-selected victim.

"I think it was me getting unlucky; if it were someone else, they would have been unlucky," he said. "I guess you never think that it will happen to you, you figure it happens in movies or to someone else. I'm more aware of my surroundings now."

Staff reporter Brooke Daley contributed to this report.

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