Student robbed at gunpoint on Spruce Street

Two men robbed a male student at approximately 1:45 a.m. on the 3900 block of Spruce Street with what was likely a handgun, according to University Police.

Although no arrests have been made in connection with the Sept. 10 incident, Chief of Police Thomas Rambo said, "We believe we know who these males are, and we are in the process of obtaining arrest warrants."

The student, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said he was walking westbound on Spruce Street after having left an on-campus building near 37th and Spruce streets. He had just passed Mayer Hall when he noticed two men walking towards him, approximately 30 yards away.

He said that the men "were walking on either side of the sidewalk" so that he was forced to walk between them. As they approached, they made a comment he believes was, "Where are the ladies tonight?" as if they were "joking around," he said.

When he was in between the two men, the student said one of them pushed him against the wall and took his wallet. They then asked if he had anything else, and he turned over his cellular phone and a bag of books he had been carrying, he said. One of the men then exposed what appeared to be a handgun, the student added.

"I actually asked them to just take the money" and not my credit cards, he said. "Then the guys kind of whipped out a gun."

Rambo confirmed that one of the males revealed what appeared to be a gun.

The men then told the student to turn around and face the wall, pointing the gun against his back, the student said. He was then instructed to turn around and start running towards Wawa, the supermarket located at 40th and Spruce streets, and was told that if he turned around, they would shoot at him.

According to the student, the two men were "wearing really baggy clothing" and appeared to be between 20 and 25 years old. One was tall, while the other was short, he said.

Rambo also described the two suspects. The first suspect was a black male somewhere between 5'8" and 5' 9", weighing between 200 and 225 pounds with a medium complexion and "slight facial hair." He was wearing "a nylon-style jacket with baggy jeans and a dark colored baseball cap on backwards," Rambo said.

The second suspect was a black male about 6'0" with a medium complexion and "with a thin build," Rambo said. He was "wearing a black sweatshirt and baggy jeans."

Following the incident, the student called the Philadelphia Police Department, and officers arrived on the scene after about a minute, he said.

The student added that a police official had told him that there have been an increased number of robberies near campus recently. The official added that the fact that they were now occurring as near as 39th and Spruce streets could be an indication that the perpetrators were getting cocky, the student said.

"I think it's a good idea to stay away from Spruce Street," the student said, adding that he believes it is safer to stay on Locust Walk. "My opinion is that Spruce Street is run down... they probably need more lighting there."

This incident is the third major crime to be reported to police on Spruce Street in the past two weeks. On Sept. 11, three unidentified men indecently assaulted a female student on the 3700 block of Spruce Street, outside the Quadrangle, around 11:50 p.m.

Additionally, a week later, on Sept. 17, three unidentified men robbed a male student at gunpoint early in the morning on the 4100 block of Spruce Street, at around 12:18 a.m.

No charges have been filed in any of these cases. However, Rambo said that five individuals were arrested on Sept. 17 for "other offenses," and that police are in the process of "linking these to possible other jobs."

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