A brazen evening robbery on the 4000 block of Walnut Street that occurred at about 9:15 p.m. yesterday left a young woman shaken and bruised and several witnesses shocked.
Wharton senior Raymond Win said that he and fellow Wharton senior Michael Faridi were walking east on the south side of Walnut Street when they heard a female voice screaming.
They looked across the street to see two young men struggling with a young woman, who was lying on the ground in front of the Delta Upsilon fraternity house.
As the seniors approached, the assailants ran toward them, and one reached into his pocket as if to draw a gun. One of the assailants was carrying a purse, Win said.
The students ran to the side, and the attackers fled west on Walnut Street.
As they did so, a University City District safety ambassador approached the scene on his bicycle, unaware of the events that had just transpired.
Faridi said one of the assailants had told the UCD ambassador that there had been a robbery down the street.
Others in the area told the guard that the "witness" had actually committed the robbery, and the UCD ambassador gave chase.
Faridi said that the attackers reached the corner of 41st and Walnut streets and turned right, escaping in a waiting vehicle.
When Win and Faridi reached the young woman, they found her upset and slightly injured. She said that she had been punched in the right eye.
"She was pretty disheveled," Faridi said.
Win said that the victim -- whom he and Faridi believed to be a Penn undergraduate -- did not seem to be seriously injured but was very distraught.
The students described the attackers as under 20 years of age.
University Police confirmed that an incident did indeed take place but would release no further details last night. They said that the investigation is ongoing.
"It's pretty shocking and surreal," Faridi said. "It's scary that at 9 p.m., you can't even be safe."
"It seemed like [the attackers] don't even consider Penn security a concern," he added.
