Three robbers stabbed a man in the leg three times early Thursday morning in a robbery near 42nd and Walnut streets and ran away with small change.
At about 12:40 a.m., police received a report indicating that a man had been stabbed.
They arrived to find a 54-year-old homeless man with three stab wounds to the thigh.
The victim said that three young men approached him and demanded money.
When he refused, one of the assailants exposed a knife and lunged at him, stabbing him three times.
The robbers got away with the change in the victim's pockets.
Philadelphia Fire Department paramedics transported the victim to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment of the stab wounds.
He was admitted in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police are investigating whether robbery was the true motive behind the attack and if there may have been some type of verbal altercation that precipitated the stabbing and robbery.
In a separate incident, a Penn undergraduate was knocked to the ground in a robbery that occurred only minutes earlier at the intersection of 36th and Market streets.
At about 12:15 a.m., a 22-year-old male Penn senior was walking west on Market Street when he was knocked to the ground from behind by two men.
The assailants demanded the victim's wallet and he complied, turning over the wallet, which contained credit cards, $18 cash and identification.
In addition, the robbers took the victim's iPod digital music player, valued at $300.
The victim described one robber as a man, 5 feet 11 inches tall with a slim build and dark complexion. He reportedly wore a light-colored hooded sweatshirt.
The second assailant is described as a male with a medium complexion, a medium build and a beard.
No injuries resulted from the robbery and assault.
Police have not made any arrests in connection with the case.
